Avaliação da atividade antibacteriana do óleo essencial de Pogostemon cablin contra Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an example of a microorganism that does not belong to the oral biofilm in a state of health, but is present in cases of infection, especially nosocomial infections. The high virulence and resistance of this bacterium to various forms of antimicrobial treatment represents a major concern in the hospital environment, so the search for new drugs that are effective in treating the infection caused by this bacterium is extremely important. Essential oils are a viable alternative for studies because they have considerable therapeutic activities in antimicrobial treatments. A good example is Pogostemon cablin oil, which has antimicrobial, anti-adherent and anti-inflammatory activities, among others. The aim of this research was to analyze the possible antimicrobial potential of the essential oil extracted from Pogostemon cablin against strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, using the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), which was determined using the microdilution technique in plates containing 96 sterile holes with a positive control, the antimicrobial chloramphenicol. The Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was read 48 hours after the MIC. After the reading, it was found that the essential oil of Pogostemon cablin presented a 50% MIC of 512 µg/mL against the Klebsiella pneumoniae strains tested, demonstrating a strong antibacterial effect, while the MBC values were above 1024 µg/mL, characterizing the oil as a bacteriostatic substance. Therefore, it was possible to observe the antibacterial potential of Pogostemon cablin essential oil against the K. pneumoniae strains tested.