Studies on Dental Caries Prevention by Traditional Medicines. X. Antibacterial Action of Phenolic Components from Mace against Streptococcus mutans

Abstract

The methanolic extract of the aril of Myristica fragrans houtt. (mace) had anti-plaque action against a cariogenic bacterium, Streptococcus mutans. Through fractionation of the extract followed by microbial assay by using the tube dilution technique, dehydrodiisoeugenol (1) and 5’-methoxydehydrodiisoeugenol (2) were identified as the major antibacterial principles. Both compounds completely inhibited the bacterial growth at a concentration of 12.5 μg/ml. During this experiment, threo-2-(4-allyl-2,6-dimethoxyphenoxy)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propan-1-ol methyl ether (6) and guaiacin (8) were isolated for the first time from mace. © 1986, The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.