Antimicrobial activity and constituents in rumput roman extract as a natural food preservative

Abstract

Rumput roman extract is used as a natural food preservative. Its antimicrobial activity and constituents were investigated as part of an ongoing study to evaluate its quality and safety as a food additive. The constituents were analyzed by GC/MS, and 5 major constituents were isolated and identified as capillin, capillene, caryophyllene oxide, α-curcumene and methyleugenol using NMR analysis. The antimicrobial activities against E. coli, S. cerevisiae and A niger were measured by means of the halo test. Based on the results, we confirmed that capillin was the major active constituent. The concentrations of capillin and capillene were determined to 17.9 mg/mL and 36.1 mg/mL, respectively, from standard curves of authentic compounds on HPLC.