Conhecimento popular e atividade antimicrobiana de Cydonia oblonga Miller (Rosaceae)

Abstract

The species Cydonia oblonga Mill., quince, originated from the Caucasus region, spreading over Europe and Mediterranean countries, and was introduced in Brazil already in 1532. Some medicinal properties are attributed to C. oblonga, determining its use by the population. In this context, the present study aimed to learn the several uses of quince in São João do Paraíso, as well as to study the antimicrobial activity of this plant. The ethnobotanical study was carried out by means of interviews applied to quince farmers. Antimicrobial activity assays were performed according to the diffusion method in dishes with disks embedded at the concentrations of 100, 200 and 400 mg/mL fruit decoction and crude extract from C. oblonga leaves, tested for six bacteria. The ethnobotanical study revealed that quince which has been used to treat diarrhea, vomit and hypertension is also used as healing and antiseptic. As to the antimicrobial study, only the crude extract from leaves partially inhibited the growth of Streptococcus agalactiae. This study led to the conclusion that quince decoction has been used by the population in traditional medicine and that the crude extract from leaves affected the growth of S. agalactiae.