Composition and antimicrobial activity of the leaf and twig oils of Litsea acutivena from Taiwan.
The chemical composition, and antimicrobial and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the essential oils isolated from the leaves and twigs of Litsea acutivena of Taiwan were investigated. The essential oils from the fresh leaves and twigs were isolated using hydrodistillation in a Clevenger-type apparatus, and characterized by GC-FID and GC-MS. Ninety-five and fifty-two compounds were identified in the leaf and twig oils, respectively. The main components of the leaf oil were gamma-patchoulene (11.0%), delta-cadinene (6.3%), trans-muurola-3,5-diene (5.9%), and beta-selinene (5.3%), whereas the main components of the twig oil were tau-cadinol (13.1%), beta-selinene (9.6%), trans-beta-ocimene (6.2%) and alpha-cadinol (7.7%). Bioactivity studies demonstrated that twig oil had excellent antimicrobial and anti-wood-decay fungal activities, superior to those of the leaf oil. For the antimicrobial and anti-wood-decay fungal activities of the twig oil, the active compounds were determined to be tau-cadinol and alpha-cadinol.
Department of Forestry, National Chung Hsing University, 250 Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung, Taiwan 402.
Chen-Lung
CL
Ho
Pei-Chun
PC
Liao
Eugene I-Chen
EI
Wang
Yu-Chang
YC
Su
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000032:analysis*; D032862:Litsea / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000737:chemistry*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000737:chemistry; D013624:Taiwan; D013729:Terpenes / Q000032:analysis
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D009822:Oils, Volatile; D013729:Terpenes; C445364:cadinol