EVALUATION OF THE ANTI-VIRULENCE EFFECT OF LONG-CHAIN PHENOLS PRESENT IN TWO SPECIES OF ANACARDIACEAE

Abstract

Therapies that inhibit virulence have been proposed as a new alternative to fight bacterial infections because they do not generate resistance. Long-chain phenols produced by species of the Anacardiaceae family are structurally diverse and appear in complex mixtures. The objective of this study was to analyze the antiquorum sensing potential of long-chain phenol mixtures (LCPM) isolated from two plant species of ethnomedicinal and commercial importance. LCPM were isolated from the bark of Amphipterygium adstringens (LCPMAa) and the pericarp of Anacardium occidentale (LCPMAo) nut, with a yield of 0.01 % wax for LCPMAa and 3.24 % oil for LCPMAo. Anacardic acids were identified as the main constituents by infrared spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Monounsaturated and saturated chains from 15 to 19 carbon atoms C19:1 (41 %) and 15:0 (19.8 %) were identified as the most abundant in LCPMAa while LCPMAo presented mainly the compounds of polyunsaturated nature and 15-carbons 15:3 (40 %) and 15:2 (24 %). Both mixtures significantly reduced production of violacein pigment in Chromobacterium violaceum model system, thus evidencing a quorum sensing inhibitory activity. Both LCPMs evaluated have the potential to be used in the development of antivirulence therapies, but that from A. occidentale has the advantage of producing the compounds at higher yield.