Original Articles
Jeferson Caetano da Silva, Wan
Abstract
The objective of this research was to evaluate the biological potential of the plant species Tabebuia roseo-alba (Ridl.) Sand. It was a quantitative study of in vitro an experimental type in which the extracts of the species Tabebuia roseo-alba were submitted to phytochemical prospection, to the cytotoxic activity by means of the methyltetrazolium colorimetric assay (MTT), to the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity by means of the broth microdilution assay to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and to the scavenging capacity of the free radical 2,2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). In the phytochemical analysis, the presence of secondary metabolites flavonoids, free steroids, triterpenes, saponins, alkaloids, anthraquinones and anthrones were evidenced. Cytotoxicity was observed at the concentration of 500 μg/mL for all samples, and at the concentration of 100 μg/mL the proliferation of the macrophages used in the test was observed. The ethanolic extract of the stem and the methanolic fractions of the stem and the hexane fractions of the stem bark presented antimicrobial activity against the bacterial strains Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli. In the antioxidant assay, the tested samples showed no satisfactory activity. Therefore, the plant species Tabebuia roseo-alba demonstrated biological potential in the tests carried out in this study. Thus, other studies are suggested with the aim of enhencing the activities found in this research.