Petroleum Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Petroleum, including details on crude oil, extraction, chemistry, pollution.

Antibacterial principles from Myristica fragrans seeds.

Narasimhan B, Dhake AS

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar, Haryana, India.

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is used in food preparations for its aromatic flavor. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the antibacterial activity of constituents of M. fragrans seeds. Seeds of M. fragrans were powdered and extracted with chloroform to obtain trimyristin, which on saponification yielded myristic acid. The mother liquor remaining after separation of trimyristin was concentrated and column-chromatographed with petroleum ether to separate myristicin. Antibacterial activity of these isolated constituents was evaluated by determination of minimum inhibitory concentration against selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. All the constituents isolated from nutmeg exhibited good antibacterial activity. This study shows the potential of natural compounds in replacement of synthetic preservatives.

Published 28 September 2006 in J Med Food, 9(3): 395-9.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Petroleum Research Today. All Rights Reserved.