Evaluación del efecto antibacteriano in vitro de antraquinonas sintéticas sobre Acinetobacter baumannii

Abstract

The bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic agent of great relevance in the hospital environment, since it is capable of causing serious infections and death in hospitalized patients. Several natural anthraquinones are known to possess antibacterial properties, so in the present study the antibacterial effect of ten synthetic anthraquinones on A. baumannii was evaluated by in vitro assays to determine their potential to constitute potential antibiotic agents. The bactericidal activity of the anthraquinones was determined by the macrodilution method on Mueller Hinton agar at a maximum concentration of 250 μg/mL. Petri dishes were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours and the number of colonies formed after exposure to each of the compounds was counted. It was found that the anthraquinones 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone and 1,8-dihydroxy-4, 5- dinitroanthraquinone showed inhibition of bacterial growth. However, at concentrations lower than the initial concentration and after 24 hours of incubation, no significant decrease in microbial growth was observed. It is concluded that the antimicrobial effect of these anthraquinones is limited to a concentration of 250 μg/mL with a dimethyl sulfoxide concentration of 5% against A. baumannii bacteria.