BACKGROUND: Candida albicans is a member of the normal flora of the skin, mucous membrane and gastrointestinal tract. Vaginal candidiasis remains a significant problem in women in childbearing age, Majority of the cases are caused by C. albicans and recurrence is common in spite of topical treatment. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to develop the antifungal agent from the medicinal herbs traditionally used in Korea. METHOD: In this study, the extracts and essential oils from Foeniculum vulgare and Illicium verum were examined for antifungal activities against C. albicans. RESULT: Dichloromethane extracts and essential oils from Foeniculum vulgare and Illicium verum showed antifungal activity against C. albicans. One fraction from Illicium verum with antifungal activity was founf out as 1-methoxy-4-(2-prophenyl) benzene. CONCLUSION: Dichloromethane extract and 1-methoxy-4-(2-prophenyl) benzene with antifungal activity from Illicium verum could be the candidate for a new antifungal agent for candidiasis and other fungal diseases.
Benzene ; Candida ; Candida albicans ; Candidiasis ; Female ; Foeniculum ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Illicium ; Methylene Chloride ; Mucous Membrane ; Oils, Volatile ; Plants, Medicinal ; Recurrence ; Skin

Liriodendron tulipifera, belonging to the family Magnoliaceae, is commonly called tulip tree. Four N-acetylated aporphine alkaloids, N-acetylnornuciferine (1), N-acetylanonaine (2), N-acetyl-3-methoxynornuciferine (3), and N-acetyl-3-methoxynornantenine (4) were isolated from the roots of L. tulipifera. Although the purity of each compound (1 - 4) was determined to be 97, 96, 99, and 98%, respectively, the 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopic data of the aporphine alkaloids 1 - 4 displayed all signals in duplicate, indicating the presence of two rotamers due to restricted rotation of N-COCH3 functionality in solution status. The absolute configurations of 1 - 4 w ere established by measuring specific rotation and comparison with the reported data. This is the first report on the 1H and 13C NMR assignments of N-acetyl-3-methoxynornuciferine (3) and N-acetyl-3-methoxynornantenine (4). This study provides advanced NMR spectroscopic data for the structure determination of rotameric aporphine alkaloids.

Three indole derivatives (1–3) and a diketopiperazine (4) were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Chromobacterium violaceum. Their structures were elucidated based on the analysis of NMR and HR-MS data and by comparing those in the previous literature. The antibacterial activities of the isolated compounds were evaluated against Gram-positive bacteria, including human pathogenic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Lacticaseibacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei, and Brevibacterium epidermidis. Compound 1 exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against all the three strains with MIC values ranging from 8.58 to 34.3 μg/mL.