title: Characterization of antimicrobial compounds from a common fern, Pteris biaurita.
abstract: Methanol extract was prepared from the fronds of Pteris biaurita and partial purification was done by solvent partitioning with diethyl ether and ethyl acetate, followed by hydrolysis and further partitioning with ethyl acetate. The three fractions, thus obtained were bioassayed separately against five test fungi--Curvularia lunata, Fomes lamaoensis, Poria hypobrumea, Fuasrium oxysporum and a bacterium--Bacillus pumilus, by spore germination, radial growth and agar cup techniques. Results revealed that ethyl acetate fraction (III) contained the active principle. TLC plate bioassay of the active fraction revealed inhibition zone at an Rf of 0.5-0.65. Silica gel from this region was scraped, eluted in methanol and subjected to UV-spectrophotometric analysis. An absorption maxima of 278 nm was recorded. HPLC analysis of TLC-eluate revealed a single peak with retention time of 8.1 min. GC-MS analysis revealed six major peaks in the retention time range of 7.2-10.9 min. Comparison with GC-MS libraries revealed that the extracts may contain a mixture of eicosenes and heptadecanes.
authors: Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Botany, University of North Bengal, Siliguri 734013, India.
authors: A K
authors: AK
authors: Dalli
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Saha
authors: U
authors: U
authors: Chakraborty
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D032495:Pteris / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents