Ent-trachyloban-19-oic acid isolated from Iostephane heterophylla as a promising antibacterial agent against Streptococcus mutans biofilms.

From the roots of Iostephane heterophylla, six known compounds, namely, ent-trachyloban-19-oic acid (1), the mixture of ent-kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (2) and ent-beyer-15-en-19-oic acid (3), xanthorrhizol (4), 16α-hydroxy-ent-kaurane (5) and 16α-hydroxy-ent-kaur-11-en-19-oic acid (6) were isolated using a bioassay-guided fractionation method. The known compounds (1-6) were identified by comparison of their spectroscopic data with reported values in the literature. In an attempt to increase the resultant antimicrobial activity of 1 and 4, a series of reactions was performed on ent-trachyloban-19-oic acid (1) and xanthorrhizol (4), to obtain derivatives 1a, 1b, and 4a-4d. All the isolated compounds (1-6) and the derivatives 1a, 1b, and 4a-4d were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against two oral pathogens, Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis associated with caries and periodontal disease, respectively. Compounds 1, 1b, 2+3, 4 and 4d inhibited the growth of S. mutans with concentrations ranging from 4.1 μg/mL to 70.5 μg/mL. No significant activity was found on P. gingivalis except for 4 with an MIC of 6.8 μg/mL. The ability of 1, 1b, 2+3, 4 and 4d to inhibit biofilm formation by S. mutans was evaluated. It was found that 1, 1b, 4 and 4d interfered with the establishment of S. mutans biofilms, inhibiting their development at 32.5, 125.0, 14.1 and 24.4 μg/mL, respectively.