Abstract

The species Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli have shown increased antimicrobial resistance, which can be overcome with plant extracts, in view of their molecular complexity, for example extracts of Anacardium occidentale Linn (cashew). The objective was to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of cashew stem bark extract. Samples were collected in Santa Cruz / RN / Brazil, and after dried and crushed, the extract was prepared by maceration with ethanol: water solution (70:30 v / v) at a ratio (1:10 w / v ) for 7 days. The filtrate was reduced by rotary evaporator and the resulting frozen. Extracts were characterized by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and tested for antimicrobial activity in various concentrations (200 to 6.25 mg / ml) by diffusion disk. TLC testing indicated that the plant extract has phenolics, tannins mainly responsible for the pharmacological properties. The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined at 12.5 mg / ml only for S. aureus.

Key words: Cashew, antimicrobial activity, S. aureus.