Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the leaf essential oil of Skimmia laureola growing wild in Jammu and Kashmir, India.

The analysis of Skimmia laureola hydrodistillate by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry revealed the presence of 20 constituents, representing 94.6% of the total oil. The major constituents of oil were linalyl acetate (33.0%), linalool (25.0%), limonene (8.1%), α-terpineol (5.9%) and geranyl acetate (5.9%). The monoterpene (93.4%) rich essential oil was evaluated for its antibacterial and antifungal activities against seven microorganisms by agar diffusion and microdilution methods. The oil showed appreciable antimicrobial effects against all Gram-positive bacteria tested, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis with MIC values 32 and 64 µg mL(-1), respectively. The oil also exhibited strong fungicidal activity against Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum with MIC value in the range 32-16 µg mL(-1). The oil could be used in the formulation of antimicrobial agents.

Isolation, characterization and biological evaluation of datura lactones as potential immunomodulators.

Phytochemical investigation of Datura quercifolia (Solanaceae) plant yielded a new datura lactone, 1beta,5alpha,12alpha-trihydroxy-6alpha,7alpha,24alpha,25alpha-diepoxy-20S,22R with-2-enolide (1), along with two known compounds, 2 and 3. The structure of 1 was established on the basis of spectral analysis, as well as by its chemical transformation into known datura lactones. These compounds have been evaluated for immunomodulatory activity by observing their effect on antibody production, T-cell and B-cell activation, and cytokine production from splenocytes. Compound 2 was found to be the most promising immunostimulator in the present study.