Antimicrobial Activities of Novel Xylopic Acid Derivatives

Xylopic acid is one of the most abundant constituents in Xylopia aethiopica. Various studies have shown that the compound possesses a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity.

In this study, the antimicrobial activities of novel ester, amide and de-acetyl derivatives of xylopic acid were investigated by determining their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC).

The broth dilution method using microtitre plate was employed in the antimicrobial assay.

The ester derivatives were the most active, with MIC values of up to 160µg/mL. The benzyl amide and the ester of de-acetyl xylopic acid generally exhibited lower antimicrobial activity with MICs of up to 320µg/mL

All the synthesized derivatives showed good antimicrobial activity and proved more active than the parent xylopic acid against the test organisms (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyrogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans).