Antibacterial triterpenes from Syzygium guineense (Myrtaceae)

Antibacterial bioassay-guided fractionation of Syzygium guineense leaf extracts afforded 10 triterpenes, namely betulinic acid 1, oleanolic acid 2, a mixture of 2-hydroxyoleanolic acid 3a, 2-hydroxyursolic acid 3b, arjunolic acid 4a, asiatic acid 4b, a mixture of terminolic acid 5a, 6-hydroxyasiatic acid 5b, and a mixture of arjunolic acid 28-β-glucopyranosyl ester 6a and the asiatic acid 28-β-glucopyranosyl ester 6b. Isolated compounds were submitted to an antibacterial assay system against gram-positive and -negative bacteria and human pathogen bacteria. Compounds 4a and 4b showed the most significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Shigella sonnei. The fraction 5a-5b was the least active, whereas compounds 1, 2 and the mixtures of 3a-3b and 6a-6b were inactive in the assays.