Study of antimicrobial activity and atomic force microscopy imaging of the action mechanism of cashew tree gum

Débora A. Campos, Alexandra C. Ribeiro, Eduardo M. Costa, João C. Fernandes, Freni K. Tavaria, Felipe Bastos Araruna, Carla Eiras, Peter Eaton, José Roberto S. A. Leite, M. Manuela Pintado*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of two grades of cashew tree gum (crude and purified) against eight microorganisms and to analyze the mechanism of cashew tree gum antimicrobial action via atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging. The results indicated strong antimicrobial properties of pure cashew tree gum against all tested microorganisms, except for Candida albicans and Lactobacillus acidophilus. On the other hand crude cashew gum showed antimicrobial activity only against Gram-positive bacteria (MRSA, MSSA, Listeria innocua and Enterococcus faecium). Atomic force microscopy imaging showed that pure cashew tree gum lead to bacterial cell collapse. In conclusion cashew tree gum presented relevant antimicrobial activity against most of the studied bacteria, and the purification of the cashew gum affected its antimicrobial spectrum.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)270-274
Number of pages5
JournalCarbohydrate Polymers
Volume90
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2012

Keywords

  • Antimicrobial
  • Atomic force microscopy
  • Cashew tree gum
  • Mechanism of action and MRSA

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