Antibacterial effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of Bertholletia excelsa (chestnut) bark on Staphylococcus aureus
Keywords:
anti-bacterial agents, Bertholletia, clindamycin, skin, Staphylococcus aureusAbstract
Introduction: Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. contains active ingredients that can affect the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, the main agent that causes skin infections.
Objectives: To evaluate the antibacterial effect of the ethanolic extract of Bertholletia excelsa bark on Staphylococcus aureus.
Methods: Experimental, in vitro, and comparative study. An initial phytochemical analysis of the extract was performed. Forty-eight Müller-Hinton agar plates (Merck®) were used, divided into six groups (n = 8): group I (distilled water), group II (96% ethyl alcohol), group III (1% clindamycin), group IV (25% Bertholletia excelsa), group V (50% Bertholletia excelsa), and group VI (75% Bertholletia excelsa). The disk diffusion method described by Bauer and Kirby was used; the bacteria used was Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and inhibition zone measurements were made after 24 hours to indicate the antibacterial effect.
Results: Phytochemical screening revealed tannins, phenolic compounds, saponins, and alkaloids. The antibacterial effect of group VI (Bertholletia excelsa 75%) was confirmed with 20.266 ± 0.0647 mm (99.17%), comparable to clindamycin 2 µg (group III) 20.434 ± 0.0448 mm (100%) on Staphylococcus aureus.
Conclusions: The 75% ethanolic extract of Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. exhibits an antibacterial effect in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, with levels similar to clindamycin 2 μg.
Downloads
References
1. Ikuta KS, Swetschinski LR, Robles Aguilar G, Sharara F, Mestrovic T, Gray AP, et al. Global mortality associated with 33 bacterial pathogens in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 [Internet]. The Lancet. 2022 [acceso: 29/07/2025];400(10369):2221-48. Disponible en: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02185-7/fulltext
2. Craft KM, Nguyen JM, Berg LJ, Townsend SD. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): antibiotic-resistance and the biofilm phenotype [Internet]. Med Chem Comm. 2019 [acceso: 29/07/2025];10(8):1231–41. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31534648/
3. Organización Mundial de la Salud. Resistencia a los antimicrobianos [Internet]. Ginebra: WHO; 2020. [acceso: 29/07/2025]. Disponible en: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
4. Al Kindi A, Alkahtani AM, Nalubega M, El-Chami C, O'Neill C, Arkwright PD, et al. Staphylococcus aureus internalized by skin keratinocytes evade antibiotic killing [Internet]. Front Microbiol. 2019 [acceso: 29/07/2025];10:2242. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31608046/
5. Linz MS, Mattappallil A, Finkel D, Parker D. Clinical impact of Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infections [Internet]. Antibiotics. 2023 [acceso: 29/07/2025];12(3):557. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36978425/
6. Cabrejos-Hirashima L, Vives-Kufoy C, Inga-Salazar J, Astocondor L, Hinostroza N, García C. Frequency of community-acquired methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a tertiary care hospital in Peru [Internet]. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Publica. 2021 [acceso: 29/07/2025];38(2):313-7. Disponible en: https://rpmesp.ins.gob.pe/rpmesp/article/view/6867
7. Vílchez Cáceda HA, Rojas Berastein K, Olortegui Quispe AR, Alvia Saldarriaga CA. Efecto antibacteriano de dos extractos hidroalcohólicos de plantas medicinales sobre Streptococcus mutans [Internet]. Rev Cub Med Mil. 2023 [acceso: 29/07/2025];52(3):e02302852. Disponible en: https://revmedmilitar.sld.cu/index.php/mil/article/view/2852
8. Roumy V, Ruiz Macedo JC, Bonneau N, Samaillie J, Azaroual N, Encinas LA, et al. Plant therapy in the Peruvian Amazon (Loreto) in case of infectious diseases and its antimicrobial evaluation [Internet]. J Ethnopharmacol. 2020 [acceso: 29/07/2025];249:112411. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31751651
9. Vílchez-Cáceda HA, Rojas-Berastein K, Takahashi-Ferrer CM, Alvia-Saldarriaga CA. Efecto antibacteriano del extracto hidroalcohólico de Tillandsia maculata (Bromeliaceae) sobre Streptococcus mutans [Internet]. Rev Cub Med Mil. 2024 [acceso: 29/07/2025];53(2):e024038860. Disponible en: https://revmedmilitar.sld.cu/index.php/mil/article/view/38860/2586
10. Vilchez-Cáceda HA, Rojas-Berastein K, Alvia-Saldarriaga CA, Takahashi-Ferrer CM. Efecto antibacteriano de nueve extractos hidroalcohólicos de plantas etnomedicinales de Huayucachi-Perú sobre bacterias grampositivas [Internet]. Rev Cub Med Mil. 2024 [acceso: 29/07/2025];53(3):e024043497. Disponible en: https://revmedmilitar.sld.cu/index.php/mil/article/view/43497/2636
11. Dallo M, Patel K, Hebert AA. Topical antibiotic treatment in dermatology [Internet]. Antibiotics. 2023 [acceso: 29/07/2025];12(2):188. Disponible en: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9952385/
12. Armillei MK, Lomakin IB, Del Rosso JQ, Grada A, Bunick CG. Scientific rationale and clinical basis for clindamycin use in the treatment of dermatologic disease [Internet]. Antibiotics. 2024 [acceso: 29/07/2025];13(3):270. Disponible en: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/13/3/270
13. Pelet del Toro NM, Strunk A, Wu JJ, Stein Gold L, Del Rosso JQ, Brodell RT, et al. Topical clindamycin for acne vulgaris: analysis of gastrointestinal events [Internet]. J Dermatolog Treat. 2024;35(1):2325603. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09546634.2024.2325603
14. Da Silva FMA, Hanna ACS, de Souza AA, Da Silva Filho FA, Canhoto OMF, Magalhães A, et al. Integrative analysis based on HPLC-DAD-MS/MS and NMR of Bertholletia excelsa bark biomass residues: determination of ellagic acid derivatives [Internet]. J Braz Chem Soc. 2019 [acceso: 29/07/2025];30(4):830–36. Disponible en: https://www.scielo.br/j/jbchs/a/rt8mffMhGwPqCKDWbYSFXKF/
15. Silva MJ-A, Boleti APA, Acho LDR, Campos JF, Neto JPM, Guimaraes A, et al. Propiedades antiinflamatorias y antioxidantes del extracto de corteza de Bertholletia excelsa [Internet]. Bol Latinoam Caribe Plant Med Aromat. 2023 [acceso: 29/07/2025];22(4):472-487. Disponible en: https://www.blacpma.ms-editions.cl/index.php/blacpma/article/view/353
16. Silva MJA, Acho LDR, Carneiro SB, Guimarães AC, Lima ES. Cosmetic application of the stem‑bark extract of Bertholletia excelsa H.B.K. [Internet]. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2024 [acceso: 29/07/2025];46(5):643–656. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38229481/
17. Sangama D. Isolamento de substâncias ativas, atividade antimalárica in vitro e antioxidante da Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. (castanha-do-Brasil) [Internet]. [Tesis de posgrado]. Manaos: Universidade Federal do Amazonas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica – Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; 2020. [acceso: 29/07/2025]. Disponible en: https://tede.ufam.edu.br/bitstream/tede/8197/2/Tese_DianaMozombite_PPGBOTEC.pdf
18. Luza-Leiva JD, Parillo-Mamani DA. Efecto Antibacteriano In vitro de la resina de Bertholletia excelsa (castaña) frente a la cepa de Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 14990 [Internet]. [Tesis de pregrado]. Lima: Universidad María Auxiliadora; 2022. [acceso: 29/07/2025]. Disponible en: https://repositorio.uma.edu.pe/handle/20.500.12970/818
19. Rosales ER. Valorización económica ecológica de árboles de Bertholletia excelsa por el método producción‑daños en Madre de Dios (Perú) [Internet]. Revista Forestal del Perú. 2020 [acceso: 29/07/2025];35(1):42-53. Disponible en: https://revistas.lamolina.edu.pe/index.php/rfp/article/view/1476
20. Akanmu A, Sodipo O, Sandabe U, Shamaki B, Balogun S, Akinwunmi K. Proximate and elemental analyses, phytochemical screening and antioxidant activities of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Solanum incanum Linn [Internet]. Fruits. Bull. Pharm. Sci. 2021 [acceso: 29/07/2025];44(1):49-62. Disponible en: https://bpsa.journals.ekb.eg/article_174130.html
21. Gallardo-Vásquez GJ, Chávez-Flores JE, Contreras-Torvisco M. Evaluación del efecto antibacteriano del látex de Jatropha curcas “piñón” frente a Staphylococcus aureus [Internet]. Duazary. 2019 [acceso: 29/07/2025];16(1):105-14. Disponible en: https://revistas.unimagdalena.edu.co/index.php/duazary/article/view/2533
22. Dahlem Junior MA, Nguema Edzang RW, Catto AL, Raimundo JM. Quinones as an efficient molecular scaffold in the antibacterial/antifungal or antitumoral arsenal [Internet]. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 [acceso: 29/07/2025];23(22):14108. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36430585/
23. Zhang Z, Cao M, Shang Z, Xu J, Chen X, Zhu Z, et al. Research Progress on the Antibacterial Activity of Natural Flavonoids [Internet]. Antibiotics. 2025 [acceso: 29/07/2025];14(4):334. Disponible en: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/14/4/334
24. Takeda LN, Omine A, Laurindo LF, Araújo AC, Machado NM, Dias JA, et al. Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) in health and disease: A narrative review [Internet]. Food Chem. 2025 [acceso: 29/07/2025];477:143425. Disponible en: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40107122/
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Héctor Alexander Vílchez-Cáceda, Jesús Edson Trejo-Levy, Ketty Rojas-Berastein, Carolina Mayo Takahashi-Ferrer, Juan Carlos Benites-Azabache
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who have publications with this Journal accept the following terms:
- The authors will retain their copyright and guarantee the Journal the right of first publication of their work, which will simultaneously be subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License. The content presented here can be shared, copied and redistributed in any medium or format; Can be adapted, remixed, transformed or created from the material, using the following terms: Attribution (giving appropriate credit to the work, providing a link to the license, and indicating if changes have been made); non-commercial (you cannot use the material for commercial purposes) and share-alike (if you remix, transform or create new material from this work, you can distribute your contribution as long as you use the same license as the original work).
- The authors may adopt other non-exclusive license agreements for the distribution of the published version of the work (for example: depositing it in an institutional electronic archive or publishing it in a monographic volume) as long as the initial publication in this Journal is indicated.
- Authors are allowed and recommended to disseminate their work through the Internet (e.g., in institutional electronic archives or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can produce interesting exchanges and increase citations. of the published work.
