IN VITRO ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS OF Punica granatum L. AND Physalis peruviana L. AGAINST Salmonella HEIDELBERG AND Staphylococcus aureus

The overuse of antimicrobials, mainly as growth-promoting agents, has led to the development of drug-resistant bacteria worldwide, bringing up the issue of import barriers and difficulty in medical-clinical approach. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial action of Punica granatum L. (pomegranate) and Physalis peruviana L. (physalis) against three isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and three isolates of Salmonella Heidelberg. The lyophilized pomegranate extract peel was diluted in sterile distilled water, obtaining the aqueous extract in ratio of 1:6. Physalis extract, at 50% concentration, was used in aqueous solution. Samples were evaluated on Mueller-Hinton agar plates, in triplicate, using the agar-diffusion technique, inoculating 80 μL of the extracts into perforated holes in the agar. Sterile mineral oil was used as negative control and 30mg amoxicillin disk as positive control. Incubation was carried out for 24 hours at 37±1ºC. After, halos formed showed inhibition of the isolates against pomegranate aqueous extract, presenting inhibition halos with mean diameter of 14 mm. However, result expressed by the action of Physalis aqueous extract did not demonstrate significant action, not forming inhibition halos in any tested sample. In this study, it is observed that Punica granatum aqueous extract has antimicrobial action against Salmonella Heidelberg and Staphylococcus aureus. In contrast, Physalis peruviana extract did not present action in the tests performed, opposing results found in other studies, which demonstrated marked antifungal action, thus encouraging further research. Due to its effectiveness of the tests performed, Punica granatum extract showed strong antimicrobial potential.