Extração e avaliação do potencial antimicrobiano de capsaicinóides obtidos de pimentas do gênero Capsicum sp

Abstract

Capsicum sp. peppers besides conferring distinctive flavor in foods, have antimicrobial potential, which is interesting from the hygienicsanitary aspect. Thus, the aim of this study was to extract and evaluate the antimicrobial potential of three peppers extracts in front of different microorganisms. Three different types of peppers, were crushed and added to pure ethanol (crude extract). This extract was fractionated with three organic solvents of different polarity and the antimicrobial activity was determined in front of eight microorganism in crude extracts and fractions of hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate. The size zone inhibition was used as a parameter for indicating the susceptibility of these microorganisms to the extracts and compared to those produced with antibiotics.The antibiograms results were compared with the Scoville scale values. Gram-negative bacteria and fungi were the most sensitive microorganisms to antibiotics and plant extracts. Gram-positive bacteria were resistant to all extracts tested. In general, among all the extracts, the hexane was less effective against all microorganisms, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts and the most efficient. Among the three tested peppers, chilli pepper was the one that caused more inhibitions, followed by cumari pepper and dedo-de-moça.