Activity against Streptococcus Pneumoniae of the Essential Oil and 5-(3-Buten-1-ynyl)-2,2′-bithienyl Isolated from Chrysactinia mexicana Roots

The essential oil of Chrysactinia mexicana retrieved from the root bark was characterized by gas chromatography coupled to a mass detector. The compounds silphiperfol-5-ene, 7-epi- silphiperfol-5-ene, modheph-2-ene, α-isocomene, β-isocomene and methyl-linoleate were identified. The principal compound (76.42%) could not be identified by the library and was further isolated through a reverse phase C-18 chromatography followed by silica gel chromatography and identified as 5-(3-buten-1-ynyl)-2,2′-bithienyl. Both the oil and the isolated compound were tested for their antimicrobial activity against two strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae resistant to β-lactam antibiotics. MICs were 250 μg/mL and 125 μg/mL respectively. This is the first report about extraction of oil and compound 5-(3-buten-1-ynyl)-2, 2′-bithienyl from roots of Chrysactinia mexicana as well as the determination of antimicrobial activity against S. pneumoniae.