Essential Oil Constituents and in Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Decalepis hamiltonii Roots against Foodborne Pathogens

Abstract

Hydrodistillation of Decalepis hamiltonii roots yielded an essential oil (0.33% v/w) that contained 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (37.45%), 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde (31.01%), 4-O-methylresorcylaldehyde (9.12%), benzyl alcohol (3.16%), and alpha-atlantone (2.06%) as major constituents, with aromatic aldehydes constituting the main fraction of this root's essential oil. The oil was tested for its antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens responsible for food spoilage and human pathologies using standard antimicrobial assays. It exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Micrococcus roseus, and Staphylococcus aureus at a concentration range of 1:0 with inhibitory activities of 27, 23, 16, 19, 22, 19, and 23 mm, respectively, which are comparable to those of the standards. The roots of D. hamiltonii, therefore, may be considered as an inexpensive source of an essential oil rich in antimicrobial compounds against foodborne pathogens.

Antimicrobial Activity of Methanolic Root Extract of <i>Decalepis hamiltonii </i>Wight &amp; Arn

“…Methanol extract of A. procera showed antifungal activity against seven fungal strains and ethyl acetate extracts showed activity against any five fungi [11] In addition these results confirmed the evidence in previous studies reported that the methanol is a better solvent for more constituent extraction of antimicrobial substance from medicinal plants compared to other solvents such as water, ethanol and hexane [12,[13][14]. The antimicrobial activity of D. hamiltonii against human pathogenic bacteria and food borne fungi has been demonstrated by [15] …”

Effet de la distillation fractionnée sur la composition chimique et l'activité antimicrobienne des huiles essentielles du Myrte (Myrtus communisL.) du Maroc

“…'utilisation des substances naturelles a Ia place des composes synthetiques a fait promouvoir des etudes plus approfondies pour ! 'exploitation des ressources des plantes (Thangadurai et a/., 2002). Les plantes superieures et leurs huiles essentielles utilisees depuis I' Antiquite en medecine traditionnelle et pour Ia conservation des aliments fournissent un grand nombre de composes qui possedent des activites antifongiques et antimicrobiennes (Cowan, 1999 Le Myrte (Myrtus communis L.) est un arbuste a feuilles persistantes appartenant a Ia famille des Myrtaceae.…”

Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Studies on Leaf and Root Extracts of Asclepias Curassavica (L).

“…Laptadaenia pyrotechnica and Sarcostema acidium [31]. Other Asclepiadaceae family members that contain antibacterial activity established successfully include Decalepis hamiltonii [32] H. indicus [33 and 34], Gymnema sylvestrae [35] and Oxystelma esculentum [36].…”