Abstract

DETERMINATION OF FLAVONOIDS AND THE ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF LEAVES OF Piper amalago L., PIPERACEAE

Vera Lucia Pereira dos Santos*, Cristina Peitz de Lima, Ranieri Campos, Jane Manfron Budel, Iara José Messias-Reason

ABSTRACT

Piper amalago L. (Piperaceae), commonly known as jaborandi-manso or jaborandi-falso, is a shrub between 2 and 7 m in size, that is found in Central and South America. The tea extracted from its leaves is used for treating skin ailments, injuries and burns. It presents antiinflammatory, anti-microbial and healing activities and it is also used as a diuretic and for the treatment of urinary calculi. The aim of this study is to analyze the antimicrobial activity and the total content of flavonoids in the hydroalcoholic extract obtained from the leaves of P. amalago. The samples showed inhibition halos on the surface of the strains of E. faecalis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa and S. aureus, which were similar to the results obtained from the essential oil extracted from the leaves on the surface of E. faecalis and S. aureus. The total content of flavonoids found in the hydroalcoholic extract was 59.13 ± 1.46 μg/mL. The results obtained from the hydroalcoholic extract of the leaves of P. amalago showed that this species is an important source of secondary metabolites that present antimicrobial activity.

Keywords: Jaborandi-falso, jaborandi-manso, Piper.