Molecules 2012, 17(7), 7758-7768; doi:10.3390/molecules17077758
Article

Characterization of the Antibacterial Activity and the Chemical Components of the Volatile Oil of the Leaves of Rubus parvifolius L.

Yongqing Caiemail, Xiaogang Huemail, Mingchun Huangemail, Fengjun Sunemail, Bo Yangemail, Juying Heemail, Xianfeng Wangemail, Peiyuan Xia* email and Jianhong Chen* email
Department of Pharmacy, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 9 May 2012; in revised form: 15 June 2012 / Accepted: 19 June 2012 / Published: 25 June 2012
(This article belongs to the Section Natural Products)
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Abstract: Rubus parvifolius L. (Rp) is a medicinal herb that possesses antibacterial activity. In this study, we extracted the volatile oil from the leaves of Rp to assess its antibacterial activity and analyze its chemical composition. A uniform distribution design was used to optimize the extraction procedure, which yielded 0.36% (w/w) of light yellowish oil from the water extract of Rp leaves. We found that the extracted oil effectively inhibited the growth of a wide range of Gram positive and negative bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii, Bacillus cloacae, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. We further analyzed the components contained in the hydro-distillated Rp volatile oil by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Twenty nine compounds were identified, including 4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyrene (66%), 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol (10%) and 4-tert-butylbenzoic acid (2%). Our results suggest that one or multiple constituents contained in Rp volatile oil may account for its antibacterial activity.
Keywords: Rubus parvifolius L.; volatile oil; 4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyrene; antibacterial activity

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Cai, Y.; Hu, X.; Huang, M.; Sun, F.; Yang, B.; He, J.; Wang, X.; Xia, P.; Chen, J. Characterization of the Antibacterial Activity and the Chemical Components of the Volatile Oil of the Leaves of Rubus parvifolius L.. Molecules 2012, 17, 7758-7768.

AMA Style

Cai Y, Hu X, Huang M, Sun F, Yang B, He J, Wang X, Xia P, Chen J. Characterization of the Antibacterial Activity and the Chemical Components of the Volatile Oil of the Leaves of Rubus parvifolius L.. Molecules. 2012; 17(7):7758-7768.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cai, Yongqing; Hu, Xiaogang; Huang, Mingchun; Sun, Fengjun; Yang, Bo; He, Juying; Wang, Xianfeng; Xia, Peiyuan; Chen, Jianhong. 2012. "Characterization of the Antibacterial Activity and the Chemical Components of the Volatile Oil of the Leaves of Rubus parvifolius L.." Molecules 17, no. 7: 7758-7768.

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