Molecules (Sep 2021)

Evaluation of Benzaldehyde as an Antibiotic Modulator and Its Toxic Effect against <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>

  • Luiz Jardelino de Lacerda Neto,
  • Andreza Guedes Barbosa Ramos,
  • Thiago Sampaio de Freitas,
  • Cristina Rodrigues dos Santos Barbosa,
  • Dárcio Luiz de Sousa Júnior,
  • Abolghasem Siyadatpanah,
  • Morteza Nejat,
  • Polrat Wilairatana,
  • Henrique Douglas Melo Coutinho,
  • Francisco Assis Bezerra da Cunha

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26185570
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 18
p. 5570

Abstract

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Products of natural origin remain important in the discovery of new bioactive molecules and are less damaging to the environment. Benzaldehyde is a product of the metabolism of plants, and similarly to oxygenated terpenes, it can have antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and toxic action against Drosophila melanogaster; we aimed to verify these activities. The broth microdilution tests determined the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of benzaldehyde alone and in association with antibiotics and ethidium bromide (EtBr). Toxicity against Drosophila melanogaster was determined by fumigation tests that measured lethality and damage to the locomotor system. The results indicated that there was an association of norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin with benzaldehyde, from 64 μg/mL to 32 μg/mL of ciprofloxacin in the strain K6028 and from 256 μg/mL to 128 μg/mL of norfloxacin in the strain 1199B; however, the associations were not able to interfere with the functioning of the tested efflux pumps. In addition, benzaldehyde had a toxic effect on flies. Thus, the results proved the ability of benzaldehyde to modulate quinolone antibiotics and its toxic effects on fruit flies, thus enabling further studies in this area.

Keywords