Antibacterial and antifungal potential of extracts of anacardium occidentale

Abstract

Anacardium occidentale is a native plant from Brazilian Northeast popularly known as cashew tree, having great socioeconomic importance for this region, due to the great popularity of its fruit and its medicinal properties, the example antimicrobial activity. The present study had as objective to make a bibliographical survey about the antimicrobial activity of A. occidentale against strains of bacteria and fungi. We used the databases Scielo, PubMed, Lilacs and Periódicos Capes, in which 110 articles were analyzed and only 48 were selected. From the data obtained in the literature, it was observed that the bark of the stem, leaves, flowers and the own fruit of A. occidentale present antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi of the genus Candida. Thus, A. occidentale presents as a potential species for the research and development of possible herbal medicines to combat bacterial and fungal infections.