Aethiopinone, an Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Agent from Salvia aethiopis Roots

Abstract

Roots of Salvia aethiopis L. were investigated for antimicrobial activity due to their reported medicinal use. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude extracts from the roots led to Me 2 CO extract as most active, exhibiting antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis and Bordetella bronchiseptica. The highest antimicrobial activity with MICs values of 2.44 µg/ml and 1.22 µg/ml against S. epidermidis and B. subtilis, respectively, was observed with aethiopinone (1), which also showed cytotoxic activity towards cultured KB human carcinoma cells with an ED 50 value of 0.62 µg/ml.