Planta Med 2010; 76 - P88
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1251850

Antibacterial Activity of Elaeagnus angustifolia Bark

CL Si 1, 2, 3, 4, Y Zhang 1, ZY Zhu 3, 4, PT Liu 1, LF Hui 1, Z Liu 1
  • 1Tianjin Key Lab of Pulp & Paper, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, 300457 Tianjin, China
  • 2State Key Laboratory of Pulp & Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, 510650 Guangzhou, China
  • 3Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education, Tianjin University of Science and Tech, 300457 Tianjin, China
  • 4State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Peking University, 100191 Beijing, China

Elaeagnus angustifolia L., a species in family of Elaeagnaceae, has an extensive distribution in northern regions of Europe and Asia. In folk medicines, E. angustifolia has been widely used to relax muscles, kill pains, treat inflammation, ease fever and cure ulcers [1]. In this study the antibactierial activities of E. angustifolia bark extracts were evaluated by hole-plate diffusion assay method described by Rios et al. [2] against Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, and Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. The 95% aqueous EtOH extracts from E. angustifolia bark was successively partitioned with several polar solvents to get fractions that were soluble in n-hexane, CH2Cl2, EtOAc, n-BuOH and H2O. Results, expressed by the diameter of an inhibition zone, indicated that the 95% aqueous EtOH extracts and all resulting soluble fractions from E. angustifolia bark revealed moderate or significant antibacterial effects against S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and S. enterica, which suggested that E. angustifolia bark extracts have the potential to be used as excellent antibacterial agents. Acknowledgements: Financial support from Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City (09JCYBJC15800, 09JCZDJC 21800) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. Reference: [1] Si CL, et al. (2009) Planta Med 75: 943–944. [2] Rios JL, et al. (1998)J Ethnopharmacol 23: 127–149.