ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Antibiot.
Sec. Antibiotic Resistance
This article is part of the Research TopicNatural Products and Microbial Interactions: From Antimicrobial Activity to Microbial ModulationView all articles
Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Effects of Crude and Microencapsulated Guava Leaf Extracts Against Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus epidermidis
Provisionally accepted
Daniela Gutierrez-Montiel1
Alma Lilian Guerrero-Barrera1*
Adriana C Moreno-Flores1
FLOR RAMIREZ1
Norma A Chávez-Vela1
Guillermo Cristian Guadalupe Martínez-Ávila2
Matheus Costa3Fabiola Galindo-Guerrero1Francisco J Avelar-Gonzalez1
Ingrid Guadalupe Ornelas García1Omar Franco-Ramírez4- 1Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico
- 2Autonomous University of Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León4, Mexico
- 3University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
- 4Instituto Nacional de Geografia e Informatica, Aguascalientes, Mexico
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Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterococcus faecalis are nosocomial microorganisms that have gained attention in recent times due to the increasing reports of antimicrobial-resistant strains, which are leading to infections that are progressively harder to eradicate. One of the most important resistance mechanisms employed by these two bacteria is biofilm formation, which provide them with physical and chemical protection from antimicrobial agents. This study assessed the antimicrobial activity of crude and microencapsulated extracts of Psidium guajava L., an agro-industrial waste product widely available in guava-producing countries, using the microdilution technique. Additionally, anti-adhesion activity was analyzed in microplates and by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Guava leaf extract reduced the growth of all three bacterial strains evaluated. For Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 12228), the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were 25 mg/ml for the crude extract and 0.625 mg/ml for the microencapsulated form. In contrast, for Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212 and a vaginal clinical isolate), MIC values were greater than 50 mg/ml and 5 mg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, both extracts exhibited anti-biofilm activity by reducing bacterial adhesion. In conclusion, microencapsulation allowed a reduction in the extract concentration and guava leaf extract shows potential as an antimicrobial agent for future application.
Keywords: guava leaf, antimicrobial, Antibiofilm, Plant Extracts, antiadhesion effects, Psidium guajava L.
Received: 21 Apr 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gutierrez-Montiel, Guerrero-Barrera, Moreno-Flores, RAMIREZ, Chávez-Vela, Martínez-Ávila, Costa, Galindo-Guerrero, Avelar-Gonzalez, Ornelas García and Franco-Ramírez. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alma Lilian Guerrero-Barrera, lilian.guerrero@edu.uaa.mx
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