Abstract

Three Antimicrobial agents from the leaf of Struchium sparganophora were isolated by chromatographic methods and characterized. The microbial inhibitory activity of these compounds was investigated against Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. The antimicrobial activity of some of these compounds was similar in some of the micro-organisms used for the tests except Klebsiella. aerogenes and the fungus Candida albicans where all the compounds showed minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values between 50 and 6.25 µg/ml. Luteolin and 3 methyl 2, 6, hexacosedienol significantly inhibited the growth of the two fungi (P<0.05) while vernodalin did not show strong activity against Aspergillus niger with MIC of 100 ug/ml. These compounds contribute to the anti-infective use of this plant in folkloric medicine and also these compounds could be used as natural antimicrobial agents in the food preservation and human health.

Key words: Struchium sparganophora, antimicrobial, luteolin, vernodalin, 3 methyl, 2, 6 hexacosedienol.