Atividade antibacteriana do óleo essencial da parte aérea de Eugenia uniflora obtido por arraste a vapor

Abstract

Eugenia uniflora is a species popularly known as pitangueira, belonging to the Myrtaceae family and characterized as a non-conventional food plant (panc). In the present study, the essential oil of the aerial part (twigs and leaves) of E. uniflora is obtained by steam distillation and hydrodistillation, calculating the yield for each method of obtaining. The antibacterial activity of the essential oil obtained by steam distillation is verified by the methods disk diffusion in agar and microdilution in broth, for the bacteria B. cereus, S. aureus, E. coli and S. typhimurium. By disk diffusion in agar, the diameter of the inhibition halo formed by the sample in Petri dish containing each bacterial suspension was evaluated. By microdilution in broth, several dilutions of the essential oil were performed in order to estimate the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) range in each bioassay. The research contributes to a possible application of the aerial part of pitangueira, instead of the fruits, and gives greater visibility and appreciation for the studied panc.