Antibacterial and Anti-Inflammatory activities of Bunchosia armeniaca (Cav.) DC. (Malpighiaceae)

Bunchosia armeniaca (B. armeniaca) is a native plant to America, and popularly called “cafezinho”, “ciruela” or “falso-guaraná”. In traditional medicine is used to treat different pathologies including infectious and inflammatory diseases. From ethanolic extract of B. armeniaca leaves (Malpighiaceae) afforded a flavonoid mixture consisting of rutin 1 (83.5%), isoquercitrin 2 (5.6%) and afzelin 5 (10.9%), which were identified and individually quantified as helpful for capillary electrophoresis and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The ethanolic extract showed an excellent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) and moderate activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). The flavonoid mixture showed antibacterial activity, mainly against the gram negative bacteria. Moreover, this plant demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory action, inhibiting the leukocyte influx and exudate formation in pleural cavity caused by carrageenan. The inflammation mediators involved in this model study, myeloperoxidase, nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor alpha were significantly inhibited by ethanolic extract and flavonoid mixture of B. armeniaca. The results show that B. armeniaca has a significant antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects and that these effects is due, at least in part, to the presence of rutin, isoquercetrin and afzelin in large amounts. Hence, these compounds have potential as novel lead compounds for the future development of therapeutic interventions for the treatment of patients with infectious and inflammatory disorders.