title: Major constituents and antimicrobial activity of Korean herb Acorus calamus.
abstract: The constituents and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil from Acorus calamus were analysed. Methyl isoeugenol and cyclohexanone were identified as the major constituents of the essential oil. The essential oil was tested for antimicrobial activity against bacteria and yeast, and has shown strong antibiotic activities against most of the tested microbes, except Escherichia coli. The hexane extract has shown a similar pattern of antimicrobial activity as the essential oil. Methyl isoeugenol, the most abundant constituent in the essential oil, has also shown similar antimicrobial activity, except against Bacillus subtilis. The essential oil as well as the hexane extract and methyl isoeugenol have shown antimicrobial activity against Propionibacterium acne, which is known to be involved in acne vulgaris.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Bio-Food and Drug Research Center, College of Biomedical and Health Science, Konkuk University, Chungju 380-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Wan-Jae
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Keum-Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Dong-Geun
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Tack-Joong
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong-Woo
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong-Kug
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Won-Kook
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Kwang-Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D029023:Acorus / Q000737:chemistry*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007723:Korea; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents