Antifungal Activity of Crude Extract from the Seeds of Inga laurina (Fabaceae)

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the antimi-crobial activity of crude extract from the seeds of Inga laurina against bacterium and fungi and develop a topical preparation with antimicrobial activity. The I. laurina seed flour was extracted with phosphate buffer (pH 7.6) to obtain saline crude extract (SCE). The antimicrobial activ-ity was determined by the broth microdilution method. Carbopol gel containing different con-centrations of extract (1, 5, 10, 15, and 20% w/w) was prepared and stored (40 °C ± 2 °C) during selected intervals for up to 30 days. Ho-mogeneity, odor, color, pH, and microbiological activity of the gel were analized. We report that SCE was active at 4 mg/mL, showing specificity against fungi and no signs of acute toxicity in the Galleria mellonella model. The MIC values ranged between 31.25 to 1000 μg/mL. The Car-bopol gel + SCE (5%) showed an inhibition zone of 14.66 ± 1.22 mm at day zero. However, there was a loss of antifungal activity after 21 days. This is the first report that proposes the devel-opment of a preparation containing extract from the seeds of Inga laurina, which has demon-strated potential application in the treatment of topical infections associated with Candida sp.