Atividade antibacteriana de óleos essenciais frente a bactérias isoladas de sururu

Abstract

The growing increase of bacteria resistance to commercially-traded antimicrobials has encouraged the search for new, more powerful pharmics against their action, because since immemorial time the plants’ therapeutic properties have been acknowledged. In this paper the antibacterial activity of five essential oils, namely guava tree, Psidium guajava L.; basil, Ocimum gratissimum L.; ginger, Zingiber officinale Roscoe; rosewood, Aniba duckei Kostermans; and allspice, Pimenta dioica Lindl, in isolated samples of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Staphylococcus positive coagulase isolated from the mussel Mytella falcate, found in four estuaries and fishmarkets of São Luís, Maranhão State, Brazil. Two different methods were used: disc diffusion (MDD) and radial diffusion in two layers of drilled agar (MDRCAP), compared with twelve commercial antimicrobials, through the sensitivity measured according to the Kirby-Bauer method. The antimicrobial action by the essential oils showed a statistically-significant difference between methods, being the rosewood-derived one the most powerful. Their antibacterial activity