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Antimicrobial activities of eucalyptus leaf extracts and flavonoids from Eucalyptus maculata
Author(s) -
Takahashi T.,
Kokubo R.,
Sakaino M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/j.1472-765x.2004.01538.x
Subject(s) - antimicrobial , eucalyptus globulus , biology , eucalyptus , bacillus cereus , antibacterial activity , enterococcus faecalis , traditional medicine , myrtaceae , botany , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , staphylococcus aureus , medicine , genetics
Aims: We investigated the antimicrobial activities of eucalyptus leaf extracts to find effective antibacterial agents. Methods and Results: The antimicrobial activities of leaf extracts from 26 species of eucalyptus were measured. Extracts of Eucalyptus globulus , E. maculata and E. viminalis significantly inhibited the growth of six Gram‐positive bacteria ( Staphylococcus aureus , MRSA, Bacillus cereus , Enterococcus faecalis , Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris , Propionibacterium acnes ), and of a fungus ( Trichophyton mentagrophytes ), but they did not show strong antibacterial activity against Gram‐negative bacteria ( Escherichia coli , Pseudomonas putida ). 2′,6′‐dihydroxy‐3′‐methyl‐4′‐methoxy‐dihydrochalcone, eucalyptin and 8‐desmethyl‐eucalyptin, isolated from E. maculata extracts, exhibited potent antimicrobial activities against seven micro‐organisms with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 1·0 to 31 mg l −1 . Conclusions: The eucalyptus extracts and three compounds from E. maculata were found to be effective against micro‐organisms that cause food poisoning, acne and athlete's foot. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study shows potential uses of extracts from E. globulus , E. maculata and E. viminalis , and antimicrobial compounds isolated from E. maculata .