Análisis fitoquímico preliminar y evaluación de la actividad antioxidante y antimicrobiana de especies vegetales del género Passiflora (P. gustaviana, P. semiciliosa, P. manicata)

Abstract

In Colombia, a country that has a great biodiversity of flora, there are around 37,500 plant species that can become ornamental or that, over time, due to customs and/or traditions, have been used by communities for medicinal purposes. because of the qualities they may have, generating relaxing, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and healing effects, among others. Among these species are passionflowers, which comprise 167 species, of which 165 are native to our territory and represent 27% of the family worldwide. Additionally, they are species that are located in areas with tropical and subtropical climates; highlighting that, in Colombia, they are mainly found in some departments such as Antioquia, Valle del Cauca, Cundinamarca and Risaralda. On the other hand, because the Passifloraceae family has a great variety of species, these have been seen from three perspectives, considering their biological, economic, and social factors. At a biological level, they may have properties that contribute to the medicinal field for human beings; As for economics, passifloras are familiarly known for the commercialization of their fruits (passion fruit, curuba, granadilla, gulupa, among others) that are part of our diet; while, in the social environment, they are plants that, depending on the culture, their exotic flowers are used as inspiration for beliefs and traditions. So far, some species have been studied, such as Passiflora edulis, Passiflora foetida, Passiflora ligularis, and Passiflora incarnata, mainly; finding that they have antioxidant, digestive, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant properties, with benefits for insomnia, anxiety and hysteria, among others, these being some of the benefits that can be obtained from these species. However, the passionflowers that have been studied the most are those that have the greatest trade, and to take advantage of the natural resources available in the national territory, we seek to analyze the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of ethanolic extracts obtained from the plants, against to bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Typhimurium; of three little-studied plant species that belong to the Passifloraceae family (P. gustaviana, P. semiciliosa, P. manicata), to qualitatively identify possible bioactive substances or principles that can contribute to the knowledge that we have so far about the passifloras.