MRSA Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about MRSA, including details on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, hospitals, infection, antibiotic resistance, superbugs.

Continentalic acid from Aralia continentalis shows activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Jeong SI, Han WS, Yun YH, Kim KJ

Wonkwang Biomaterial Implant Research Institute, Wonkwang University, Iksan City, Jeonbuk, Iksan, South Korea.

In a continuing search for compounds with antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a chloroform extract of roots of Aralia continentalis was found to contain continentalic acid (CA, C(20)H(30)O(2)), a diterpenic acid. This compound exhibited potent activity against standard methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) as well as clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It was determined that continentalic acid had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of approximately 8-16 microg/mL against S. aureus, including the MSSA and MRSA standard strains. Therefore, the results obtained in this study suggest that continentalic acid might have potential as an adjunct in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Published 24 May 2006 in Phytother Res, 20(6): 511-4.
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