Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Essential Oil and Extracts of Saurauia lantsangensis Hu Root

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil and n-hexane (HEE), chloroform (CHE), ethyl acetate (EAE), and methanol (MEE) extracts, respectively, from the root of Saurauia lantsangensis Hu were investigated. The GC-MS analysis revealed 39 compounds representing 96.41% of the oil containing T-muurolol (13.85%), acetophenone (7.46%), α-cadinol (6.26%), methyl palmitate (5.36%), n-hexadecanoic acid (4.31%), torreyol (3.69%), and isospathulenol (3.48%) as major components. Antioxidant activities determined by three various testing systems, i. e. DPPH radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, and reducing power assay, increased in the order: HEE < CHE < oil < MEE < EAE. CHE, EAE, MEE and oil exhibited a promising antimicrobial effect determined as the diameter of zones of inhibition (13.3 - 16.2, 16.5 - 20.4, 13.5 - 16.6, and 16.5 - 22.7 mm), respectively, along with their respective MIC values (500 - 1000, 125 - 500, 250 - 500, and 250 - 500 μg/ml) against Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli), Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus), and a yeast (Hansenula anomala).