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The incidence of opportunistic fungal infections in immunocompromised patients, such as those undergoing treatment with immunosuppressive drugs, intensive chemotherapy, AIDS patients and neonates, is increasing at an alarming rate. 1,2) These mycoses are very difficult to eradicate, and present an enormous challenge for healthcare providers. 3,4) The diversity of plant species in Brazil, together with their known ethnopharmacological uses, creates enormous potential for finding new structures with antifungal properties. 5,6) The Piperaceae is a vast family of plants, which has been extensively used for medicinal purposes.7) It comprises about 10 genus and approximately 2000 species, most of them herbaceous, 8) which are found mainly in tropical areas. Piper and Peperomia, the two greatest genera of the family, are well-represented in the Brazilian flora. 9)Within the Piperaceae family, the genus Piper has over 700 species, distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Its phytochemistry has been object of extensive reviews. 10,11) With regard to the ethnopharmacological information, while the pungent and aromatic fruits of some species of Piper are used as spices, most of them find wide application in traditional systems of medicine 10,11) as insecticides, 7,[12][13][14] antivirals, 15,16) antimicrobials [17][18][19][20][21] and particularly antifungals. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28] These biological properties have been attributed to the presence of lignans and/or amides, such as alkyl or olefinic isobutylamides, 7,23,29) flavonoids, kawa-lactones, butenolides and cyclohexane epoxides, among others. 10)Among the different species of Piper growing in Brazil, Piper solmsianum (syn. P. leucathum or P. santosanum) known popularly as "pariparoba", is a shrub that measures 1-3 m. There are few reports on the chemical or biological studies of this plant. In contrast, phytochemical studies indicated the presence of aliphatic hydrocarbons, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, arylpropanoids and neolignans. [30][31][32] Recently, we have demonstrated that the fractions and some pure compounds (lignans) from the leaves of this plant exhibit significant activity against Gram-positive bacteria. 33)The current study extends our previous work on the biological properties of P. solmsianum and describes the in vitro antifungal activity of extracts, fractions and pure compounds against a panel of opportunistic pathogenic fungi using the agar dilution method. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant MaterialPiper solmsianum C. DC. var. solmsianum (Piperaceae) was collected in May, 2001, in Ponta Grossa, State of Paraná, Brazil, and identified by Dr. Elsie Franklin Guimarães (Rio de Janeiro Botanic Museum Herbarium). A voucher specimen was deposited in the same herbarium under the number RB 368597.Phytochemical Analyses Air-dried leaves (1.36 kg) of P. solmsianum var. solmsianum were cut into small pieces and macerated at room temperature for one week in methanol. After filtration, the solvent was removed by rotary evaporat...

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Calophyllum brasiliense (Clusiaceae/Guttiferae) is a native Brazilian medicinal plant traditionally used against several diseases, including infectious pathologies. Crude methanolic extracts (CME) and two fractions, denoted non-polar (soluble in chloroform) and polar (nonsoluble in chloroform), were prepared from different parts of the plant (roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits) and studied. The following compounds were isolated and tested against pathogenic bacteria and yeasts by determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC): brasiliensic acid (1), gallic acid (2), epicatechin (3), protocatechuic acid (4), friedelin (5) and 1,5-dihydroxyxanthone (6). The results indicated that all the parts of the plant exhibited antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, which are selectively inhibited by components of C. brasiliense. No activity was observed against Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts tested. Regarding the isolated compounds, substance 4 showed antimicrobial activity against all the tested microorganisms, whereas compound 6 exhibited antimicrobial activity only against Gram-positive bacteria. The results from the current study confirm and justify the popular use of this plant to treat infectious processes.

RESUMO:Óleo essencial de Hedyosmum brasiliense Miq., Chloranthaceae: composição e atividade antimicrobiana. Hedyosmum brasiliense Miq., Chloranthaceae, é uma espécie endêmica no Brasil, conhecida como "cidrão". Embora H. brasiliense seja utilizada como calmante na medicina popular, não foi ainda caracterizada quanto aos constituintes químicos. Este trabalho apresenta a composição do óleo essencial, obtido pela destilação de folhas frescas e de amostra de óleo essencial armazenada por três meses, analisadas por GC-FID e CG-MS. Os efeitos inibitórios do óleo essencial foram testados pelo método da diluição em agar, contra seis espécies de bactérias (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus e S. saprophyticus). Adicionalmente, seis espécies de fungos (Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum, Trichophyton rubrum e T. mentagrophytes) foram incluídas. Dentre os principais constituintes, α-terpineol (10,2%), curzereno (8,9%), pinocarvona (8,4%) e β-tujeno (7,1%) foram os encontrados em maior quantidade. O óleo essencial apresentou baixa atividade contra microorganismos Gram-negativos. Entretanto, a atividade é extraordinária contra bactérias Gram-positivas e fungos, com valores de MIC entre 0,125 a 2,5% (v/v). Unitermos:Hedyosmum brasiliense, Chloranthaceae, óleo essencial, atividade antimicrobiana. ABSTRACT:Hedyosmum brasiliense Miq., Chloranthaceae, is an endemic species of Brazil, locally known as "cidrão". Although H. brasiliense is popularly used as sedative, chemical constituents of this species remains uncharacterized. This work presents the essential oil composition, obtained by the distillation of fresh leaves and a sample stored for three months, analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The inhibitory effects of the essential oil were tested by the agar dilution method against six bacterial species (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and S. saprophyticus). In addition, six fungal species (Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis, Microsporum canis, M. gypseum, Trichophyton rubrum and T. mentagrophytes) were included. Among the determined constituents, α-terpineol (10.2%), curzerene (8.9%), pinocarvone (8.4%) and β-thujene (7.1%) were found as the main components. The essential oil has low activity only against Gram-negative microorganisms. However, it is a remarkable active against Grampositive bacteria and fungi with MIC values ranging from 0.125 to 2.5% (v/v).