Phytochemical Screening and Investigation of Antimicrobial Activity from Derivatives of Aveloz (Euphorbia tirucalli L.)

Aveloz (Euphorbia tirucalli L.) is a plant known for its therapeutic activities and the toxicity of latex. Antimicrobial, antitumoral, antidiarrheal, anti-inflammatory activities, among others, are examples of its medicinal properties already described in different studies. On the other hand, extrinsic and intrinsic factors associated with the plant metabolism are able to produce different metabolites among samples of the same species. Therefore, studies of antimicrobial activity and the phytochemical screening of different specimens of this plant are relevant, since it is able to aggregate knowledge about its properties widely used by the population. In the present study, the phytochemical screening was performed and the antimicrobial activity of four extracts from aerial parts was investigated. The results showed that the material presents antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potentials, since the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids and, through the susceptibility tests carried out on 96-wells microplates with viability stains, it was verified the occurrence of growth inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli strains. The plant derivatives presenting significant antimicrobial activity were the ethyl acetate and the butanol extracts. Comparing these data to the literature we conclude that new researches using different specimens of E. tirucalli may provide findings with potential application in medicine.