Antibacterial Activity of Peruvian Tarasa Species: A Comparative Study of the Antimicrobial Effects of Extracts From Three Different Tarasa Species, T. capitata, T. operculata and T. tenuis, Against Human Pathogens.

Abstract

The growing problem of antibiotic resistance has driven the search for new sources of antimicrobial agents. Plants, particularly those from the Malvaceae family, have showed promising potential in this field. The present study is based on Tarasa extracts, and the antimicrobial action was assessed using Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli as experimental bacterial strains. N-hexane extracts of T. capitata, Tarasa operculata and Tarasa tenuis were analysed and showed, for the first time, antimicrobial activities against human pathogens. GC/MS analysis identified several chemical compounds in the extracts that could be responsible for their antimicrobial activity. These findings suggest that Tarasa species could be a valuable source of new antimicrobial compounds.