Resumo

ORTEGA F, José, BARBOZA U, Andry, PENA, Néstor et al. Estudio fitoquímico preliminar y evaluación antimicrobiana del extracto neutro de las hojas de Cordia cylindrostachya (Boraginaceae). Ciencia, jun. 2007, vol.15, no.2, p.294-300. ISSN 1315-2076.

Reasearch on family Boraginaceae have been focused to search of substances with proved pharmacological activity. The specie Cordia cylindrostachya (Boraginaceae) has not been studied so far, since pharmacological point of view, so, it is interesting to study this endemic plant of the Andes region of Venezuela. The plant material was collected in El Cobre, Táchira State; maceration of the fresh leaves with (iso-propanol-water (70:30) gave origin to the hydroalcoholic extract which was fractionated to produce the neutral fraction. This fraction showed inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus feacalis, Micrococcus spp and Bacillus subtilis. By means of successive chromatographies two major solids were separated: one of them, identified as 3α-hydroxyolean-12-en-27-oic acid, resulted active against Enterococcus feacalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus sp and Bacillus subtilis; the second one was identified as 5-hydroxy-3,7,4´-trimethoxy-flavone and was not active against the tested strains. Additionally, β-sitosterol was isolated, a very common compound in higher plants, whose antibacterial activity is known.

Palavras-chave: Antimicrobial activity; Boraginaceae; Cordia cylindrostachya; flavonoids; triterpenes.