title: Chemical composition, mechanism of antibacterial action and antioxidant activity of leaf essential oil of Forsythia koreana deciduous shrub.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the chemical constituents of leaf essential oil of Forsythia koreana (F. koreana) and evaluate its effects on bacterial strains.
  
  
  METHODS
  The essential oil of leaf of F. koreana was extracted by using hydrodistillation process and the volatile components investigated with the help of gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The antibacterial study was carried out with the help of agar disc diffusion method, MIC, MBC and viable count. The mode of action was determined with help of potassium ion flux, cellular material release and scanning electron microscopy. The antioxidant activity was determined with the help of 2, 3-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method, nitric oxide scavenging activity and superoxide anion radical scavenging assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total ten compounds were identified as trans-phytol (42.73%), cis-3-hexenol (12.95%), β-linalool (10.68%), trans-2-hexenal (8.86%), trans-2-hexenol (8.86%), myrcenol (3.86%), 4-vinylphenyl acetate (3.86%), (4Z)-4,6-heptadien-1-ol (3.18%), lemonol (2.73%) and benzeneacetaldehyde (2.27%) by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The antibacterial study was demonstrated that leaf essential oil of F. koreana act against foodborne and other pathogenic bacteria. The mode of action revealed that this essential oil acted on the cytoplasmic membrane, resulting in loss of integrity and increased permeability. In addition, leaf essential oil of F. koreana was shown to be rich in linalool, which contributes to improved antioxidant activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results show that leaf essential oil of F. koreana has great potential as a natural food preservative, antibacterial and antioxidant agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering, Daegu University, Kyungsan, Kyungbuk 712-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Xiao-Nan
authors.initials: XN
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering, Daegu University, Kyungsan, Kyungbuk 712-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Imran
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, College of Engineering, Daegu University, Kyungsan, Kyungbuk 712-714, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: sckang@daegu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sun Chul
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kang
keywords: Antibacterial activity; Antioxidant activity; Cell material released; Essential oil; GC–MS; Potassium ion flux