title: Isolation, characterization and mode of antimicrobial action against Vibrio cholerae of methyl gallate isolated from Acacia farnesiana.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The antimicrobial activity of Acacia farnesiana against Vibrio cholerae has been demonstrated; however, no information regarding its active compound or its mechanism of action has been documented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The active compound was isolated from A. farnesiana by bioassay-guided fractionation and identified as methyl gallate by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques ((1) H NMR and (13) C NMR). The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of methyl gallate and its effect on membrane integrity, cytoplasmic pH, membrane potential, ATP synthesis and gene expression of cholera toxin (ctx) from V. cholerae were determined. The MBC of methyl gallate ranged from 30 ± 1 to 50 ± 1 μg ml(-1) . Methyl gallate affected cell membrane integrity, causing a decrease in cytoplasmic pH (pHin , from 7·3 to <3·0), and membrane hyperpolarization, and ATP was no longer produced by the treated cells. However, methyl gallate did not affect ctx gene expression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Methyl gallate is a major antimicrobial compound from A. farnesiana that disturbs the membrane activity of V. cholerae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The effects of methyl gallate validate several traditional antimicrobial uses of A. farnesiana, and it is an attractive alternative to control V. cholerae.
authors: Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, NL, México.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Sánchez
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Heredia
authors: M Del R
authors: Mdel R
authors: Camacho-Corona
authors: S
authors: S
authors: García
keywords: Acacia farnesiana; Vibrio cholerae; antimicrobial; membrane; methyl gallate; natural products