%0 Journal Article
%T Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oils from Different Parts of Leonurus japonicus Houtt.
%A Liang Xiong
%A Cheng Peng
%A Qin-Mei Zhou
%A Feng Wan
%A Xiao-Fang Xie
%A Li Guo
%A Xiao-Hong Li
%A Cheng-Jun He
%A Ou Dai
%J Molecules
%D 2013
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/molecules18010963
%X The herb and fruits of Leonurus japonicus Houtt., named ¡°Yimucao¡± and ¡°Chongweizi¡±, respectively, in Chinese, have been widely used in China as gynecological medicines. The components of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation were investigated by GC-MS. The antibacterial activity of the essential oils was determined by micro-dilution assay. The results showed large variations in the chemical composition and antibacterial activity of the oils. The oil of ¡°Yimucao¡± showed antibacterial activity against various Gram-positive bacteria and consisted mainly of sesquiterpenes and diterpenes, with phytone, phytol, caryophyllene oxide and ¦Â-caryophyllene being the most significant constituents, whereas the oil of ¡°Chongweizi¡±, mainly made up of bornyl acetate and aliphatic hydrocarbons, was inactive in the antibacterial assay. Further study of the main compounds in ¡°Yimucao oil¡± showed that ¦Â-caryophyllene had wide-spectrum activity against Gram-positive bacteria.
%K Leonurus japonicus
%K essential oil composition
%K antibacterial activity
%K ¦Â-caryophyllene
%U http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/18/1/963