Kulip, J. (Ethnobotany Section, Forest Research Centre, Forestry Department Sabah, P.O. Box 1407, 90715 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia) The popularity of plants with traditional uses among the Muruts is fading due to migration, restriction from religion, lost interest of younger generations and heavy dependence on modern medicine. Opening of forests for agricultural development and timber harvesting makes the resources scarce which is also contributing to the loss of knowledge. Awareness activities in Malaysia's primary and secondary schools on the usefulness of plants and their environment, and government policies on medicinal plants, have contributed significantly towards the preservation of indigenous traditional knowledge of plants.

In a continuation of our study of the Rutaceae, detailed chemical investigation on Micromelum minutum (Rutaceae) collected from Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia gave four new coumarins. The structures of the coumarins have been fully characterised by spectroscopic methods as 3",4"-dihydrocapnolactone 1, 2',3'-epoxyisocapnolactone 2, 8-hydroxyisocapnolactone-2',3'-diol 3 and 8-hydroxy-3",4"-dihydrocapnolactone-2',3'-diol 4.

A new coumarin, 8,4''-dihydroxy-3'',4''-dihydrocapnolactone-2',3'-diol (1) and two known triterpenes, 5(6)-gluten-3-one (2) and 5(6)-gluten-3alpha-ol (3) were isolated from the leaves of Micromelum minutum (Rutaceae) collected from Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysia and their structures were characterized by spectroscopic methods.

The essential oil composition of six species of wild Cinnamomum found in Borneo was investigated. The oils were obtained from bark by hydrodistillation and the volatile chemical profile was obtained via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). A total of 65 volatile constituents were identified, where the essential oils of the studied specimens contained high contents of oxygenated monoterpenes. Eucalyptol (1.2~31.1 %), terpinen-4-ol (7.9~22.1 %), eugenol (0.4~37.9 %) and α-cadinol (0.4~1.8 %) were detected consistently in the specimens studied. The oils of C. cuspidatum and C. crassinervium exhibited significant inhibition against Listeria monocytogenes, specifically the latter, which displayed a lower minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value against Staphylococcus aereus and L. monocytogenes. This result had highlighted the possible usage of the essential oil derived from wild cinnamom species against food borne pathogens.

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