CULTIVATION, EXTRACTION, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND SCREENING OF ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF ESSENTIAL OILS OF Melaleuca alternifolia AND Cymbopogon winterianus

Objective: Cultivation, extraction and investigation of the chemical composition, antimicrobial activity of essential oils (EOs) of Cymbopogon winterianus (CEO) and Melaleuca alternifolia (TTO); correlating with antimicrobials Amoxicillin + Clavulanic Acid. 30mcg , Ciprofloxacin 5Mcg and Clotrimazole 50μg. Materials and Methods: The cultivation was carried out in southwestern Paraná/Brazil, extraction was performed by steam distillation and chemical characterization by gas chromatography . For antimicrobial susceptibility, the 10 Gram-positive strains, 10 Gram-negative strains and 5 yeasts were standardized (1.5 x108 CFU/mL) for disk diffusion assay of EOs and antimicrobials. Results: Chromatographic analysis revealed that the main components of CEO are citronellal (51.46%), geraniol (13.36%) and citronellol (9.36%), and of TTO are terpinen-4-ol (26.91%), α-terpinene (24.71%) and γ-terpinene (21.81%). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that both EOs have a broad spectrum of action against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and yeasts. CEO demonstrated activity against all bacteria tested, presenting similar or superior activity to commercial antimicrobials in 9 strains of bacteria and 4 yeasts, while TTO was effective against all strains tested, with similar or superior activity to antimicrobials in 5 strains of bacteria and all yeasts. The antimicrobial action is attributed to the synergistic action of the compounds, disrupting and permeabilizing the cell membrane of microorganisms, inhibiting enzymatic activities or causing leakage of essential ions. Conclusion: The results indicate that the EOs tested are promising natural antimicrobials, which can be used as alternatives or complements to traditional antibiotics, especially in cases of bacterial resistance.