Bioassay-guided isolation and evaluation of antimicrobial compounds from Ixora megalophylla against some oral pathogens

Abstract

Context Ixora megalophylla Chamch. (Rubiaceae) is a new plant species recently found in southern Thailand. Ethyl acetate extracts of its leaves and stems showed antimicrobial activities.

Objectives To isolate and identify the antimicrobial compounds from I. megalophylla leaves and stems.

Materials and methods The dried leaves (1.7 kg) and stems (3.5 kg) were consecutively extracted with petroleum ether (5 L × 4), ethyl acetate (5 L × 3) and ethanol (5 L × 4) under reflux conditions. The ethyl acetate extract was subjected to an antimicrobial assay guided isolation with Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans. Compounds 1–10 were identified by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and EI-MS. Minimal lethal concentration (MLC) against C. albicans and Streptococcus spp. was determined using a broth microdilution method for 48 and 24 h, respectively.

Results and discussion On the basis of the antimicrobial assay guided isolation, 10 known compounds, including vanillic acid (1), syringic acid (2), 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde (3), scopoletin (4), loliolide (5), syringaldehyde (6), sinapaldehyde (7), coniferaldehyde (8), syringaresinol (9) and 2,2′-dithiodipyridine (10), were identified. Compounds 1–5 were purified from the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves, while 6–9 and 10 were from the ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts of the stems, respectively. Among these isolates, 10 showed the strongest antibacterial activities against S. mutans and Streptococcus mitis, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 2–4 μg/mL, and MLC of 4 μg/mL, as well as having a weak antifungal activity against C. albicans (MIC of 125 μg/mL). This is the first report of the antimicrobial activities of 10.

Keywords:

• Antibacterial
• antifungal
• 2,2′-dithiodipyridine
• Rubiaceae

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Brian Hodgson for assistance with the English.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. The authors thank the Higher Education Research Promotion and National Research University Project of Thailand, Office of the Higher Education Commission for support in the form of a research grant, and Thai Government Science and Technology PhD Scholarship from Ministry of Science and Technology, Thailand.