Purpose: To determine the phytochemical content, and tyrosinase inhibitory and antimicrobial activities
of the wood from
Streblus ilicifolius
(S. Vidal) Corner
Methods: The dried wood of
S. ilicifolius (8.70 kg) was extracted by maceration to give petroleum ether,
ethyl acetate, ethanol and water extracts, respectively. Dopachrome method was used to determine
antityrosinase activity. Agar disc diffusion and modified broth microdilution methods were used to
determine antimicrobial activity. Chromatographic techniques were used for phytochemical
investigation. The structures elucidation of isolated compounds were identified by physical properties
and spectroscopic data including UV, IR, NMR and MS data and confirmed by comparison with
previously reports.
Results: The ethanol extract exhibited tyrosinase inhibition and antimicrobial activity against the Grampositive
bacteria,
Staphylococcus epidermidis
and
S. aureus
. Phytochemical investigation showed five
compounds, namely, (E)-2,4-dihydroxy-3-(3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienyl) benzaldehyde (1), phydroxybenzoic
acid methyl ester (2), umbelliferone (3), moracin M (4), trans-resveratrol (5). Compound
4 exhibited tyrosinase inhibition with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC
50) of 67.69 μg/ml, while
compound 1 displayed strong activity against
S. epidermidis,
S. aureus and methicillin-resistant
S. aureus (MRSA) with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 8, 4 and 8 μg/ml, respectively and
minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 32, 16 and 64 μg/ml, respectively.
Conclusion: This is the first report of the biological activities and phytochemical composition of
S. ilicifolius and the results indicate the high potentials of the plant for commercial applications such as in
facial whitening and anti-acne cream.