Estudo fitoquímico do extrato hidroalcoólico das folhas de melão-de-são-caetano (Momordica charantia) e avaliação de sua atividade inibidora contra Sporothrix spp

Abstract

The bitter melon or Saint Caetano melon (MSC) (Momordica charantia L.) of the Curcubitaceae family is a medicinal plant with extensive popular use, covering different purposes due to its wide repertoire of pharmacogens. A fungal pathology that has been receiving attention in several regions of Brazil is feline sporotrichosis. One of the reasons for the interest in the control and treatment of this pathology is its anthropozoonotic character and the growing number of cases in human beings, especially in Brazil. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the possible antifungal effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of Momordica charantia L. leaves in relation to the pathogen Sporothix spp. together with a study of the phytochemical profile of the extract. For this, a hydroalcoholic MSC extract leaves was produced, subsequently lyophilized and the antifungal capacity was evaluated from serial microdilution in a 96-well plate, with concentrations of 200; 100; 50; 25; 12.5; 6.25; 3.125; 1.5625; 0.78125; 0.3906; 0.195; 0.0976 and 0.0488 mg/ml of the extracts. The effects of these different concentrations were evaluated using the inoculum of the fungus adjusted to 1.0 on the McFarland scale, and the growth of the fungus in question at times 0, 24, 36 and 72h was evaluated by inoculating the dilutions in petri dishes. The evaluation indicated that there was no inhibitory activity of the hydroalcoholic extract of MSC leaves in the tested dilutions on the fungus. At the same time, the phytochemical study of the extract was carried out using the Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) technique, with the presence of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, terpenes, hydrolyzable tannins and absence of condensed tannins.