Planta Med 2008; 74 - PB69
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1084414

Constituents of Neohyptis paniculata and their anti-staphylococcal activity

MM Rahman 1, S Gibbons 1
  • 1Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, The School of Pharmacy, University of London, 29–39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK

The development of resistance by bacteria to currently available antibiotics is a major problem in the treatment of infectious diseases. To exemplify this, there has been an increase in the number of death certificates that cite MRSA in the UK [1]. As part of on-going efforts to characterize new antibacterials with activity against multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of Staphylococcus aureus [2], the aerial parts of Neohyptis paniculata (Lamiaceae), a monotypic species which has not been investigated before, were Soxhlet extracted with hexane, CHCl3 and methanol followed by further fractionation and purification yielding a total of eight compounds including two new metabolites (1 and 2). The antibacterial activity of these compounds was tested against standard and MDR S. aureus strains (ATCC-25923, SA-1199B, XU-212, RN-4220, EMRSA-15 and EMRSA-16) and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the compounds were found to be in the range of 64–256µg/ml.

Acknowledgements: The Leverhulme Trust.

References: 1. Office for National Statistics. (2006). Health Statistics Quarterly 29: 63–68. 2. Smith, E.C.J., et al. (2008). Phytochemistry Letters 1:49–53.