Antimicrobial activity of Achyrocline satureioides extract in a potentizing solution

Achyrocline satureioides (Lam.) DC. is a medicinal plant traditionally used in Brazilian ethnomedicine through infusion and decoction for various therapeutic purposes. The objectives were to determine the antimicrobial activity of the A. satureioides extract against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and to describe a novel technique using iron dextran solution to enhance the activity of bioactive compounds and antimicrobial agents. The extract was characterized for phytochemical composition, antioxidant activity in vitro, and antimicrobial activity. The extract exhibited a high content of phenolic compounds and considerable antioxidant activity. Concerning the antimicrobial activity, it inhibited the development of the strain at low concentrations, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.0390 mg/ml for the pure extract and 0.0195 mg/ml for the extract diluted in iron dextran, thus presenting bacteriostatic activity at these concentrations. It showed a bactericidal activity from 10 mg/ml, with inhibition halo of 2.11±0.19 and 2.22±0.50 mm for the pure extract and 2.55±0.19 and 2.66±0.33 mm for the extract diluted in iron dextran in the disk diffusion and punch hole methods, respectively. A. satureioides has an important antimicrobial activity, and the iron dextran solution enhanced the effect of bioactive compounds and antimicrobial agents.