The Isolation and Characterization of Antimicrobial Compounds Extracted from Rhus typhina.

Abstract

Rhus typhina, a plant native to eastern North America, has previously been discovered to exhibit antibacterial activity against various ESKAPE pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii. The purpose of this work is to separate and purify compounds from the crude extracts using column chromatography, identify the pure compounds using NMR, and examine the therapeutic potential of these compounds on A.baumannii and S.aureus. A.baumannii is a non-motile, gram-negative, pleomorphic opportunistic pathogen and S.aureus is a non-motile, gram-positive, coccus-shaped, opportunistic pathogen; Both bacteria are major causes of nosocomial infections due to their ability to resist multiple antibiotics. As multi-drug resistance becomes more prevalent, there is a growing demand for research on new therapeutic agents. Supporting previous unpublished research from our laboratory, the data here suggest that ethanolic extracts of R.typhina contain compounds that exhibit antibacterial capabilities against both S. aureus and A. baumannii. Ongoing studies are focusing on determining the structure of the antimicrobial chemicals and the mode of action of these compounds.