ABSTRACT
Several health benefits have been attributed to members of the Verbesina genus, including promotion of urinary and gastrointestinal health. Verbesina species are also reported to exhibit antibacterial, antiparasitic, and antioxidant activities. Although members of the Verbesina genus produce various pharmacologically relevant chemicals as secondary metabolites, including eudesmanes, flavonoids, guanidine alkaloids, acetylenic compounds, and germacrenes, the active compounds required for these benefits remain unknown. To investigate potential antimicrobial activities of Verbesina negrensis, crude extracts from plant aerial structures were evaluated. Following chemical fractionation, the chloroformic extract from Verbesina negrensis was subjected to bioassay-guided isolation using disk diffusion assays to determine antimicrobial activity. The active compound was characterized as 6ß-cinnamoyloxy-1ß-hydroxy-10α-metoxy-3-oxo-germacra-4,5Z-ene (1). Fractions containing 1 inhibited both Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29 212) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29213). The MIC for 1 was determined by microbroth dilution assay to be 64 µg/mL for both E. faecalis and S. aureus.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/isolation & purification , Sesquiterpenes, Germacrane/isolation & purification , Verbesina/chemistry , Anti-Bacterial Agents/chemistry , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Enterococcus faecalis/drug effects , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Sesquiterpenes, Germacrane/chemistry , Sesquiterpenes, Germacrane/pharmacology , Staphylococcus aureus/drug effectsABSTRACT
In this paper, preliminary studies on the chemical characterization of Phthirusa adunca Meyer essential oil, obtained by hydrodistillation, is presented. The separation of the components was performed by GC-MS. Twenty-three compounds (94.5% of the sample) were identified of which the three major ones (76% of the sample) were beta-phellandrene (38.1%), germacrene D (26.8%) and beta-pinene (11.5%). The essential oil showed a broad spectrum of activity against Salmonella Typhi CDC 57 (100 microg/mL), Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 (200 microg/mL), Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 (250 microg/mL), Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 y Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 23357 (500 microg/mL). This is the first report on the composition and activity of the essential oil of this species.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/chemistry , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Loranthaceae/chemistry , Monoterpenes/isolation & purification , Oils, Volatile/chemistry , Oils, Volatile/pharmacology , Plant Oils/chemistry , Bacteria/drug effects , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Monoterpenes/chemistry , Monoterpenes/pharmacology , Plant Components, Aerial/chemistry , Plant Oils/pharmacology , VenezuelaABSTRACT
The chemical constituents of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation of the leaves of Eugenia triquetra O. Berg, collected in Táchira State, Venezuela, were identified by GC-MS analysis. Twenty-six components, which made up 88.5% of the oil, were identified. The major constituents were linalool (17.5%), limonene (16.9%), alpha-pinene (11.6%), beta-pinene (8.7%), and p-cymene (3.7%). The essential oil was tested against third-instar larvae of Aedes aegypti, showing a LC50 value of 64.8 +/- 5.6 ppm.
Subject(s)
Aedes/drug effects , Insecticides/chemistry , Insecticides/pharmacology , Oils, Volatile/chemistry , Syzygium/chemistry , Animals , Larva/drug effects , VenezuelaABSTRACT
Chemical constituents of the essential oil from the leaves of Minthostachys mollis (Kunth) Griseb Vaught var. mollis collected in January 2008 at Tuñame, Trujillo State, Venezuela, were separated and identified by GC-MS analysis. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and thirteen components (98.5% of the sample) were identified by comparison with the Wiley GC-MS library data base. The two major components were pulegone (55.2%) and trans-menthone (31.5%). The essential oil showed a significant inhibitory effect against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, especially Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhi (4 microg/mL).