Chemical composition of the endocarps of fruits of Styrax officinalis L

Phytochemical characterization of Styrax benzoin resin extract, molecular docking, ADME, and antibacterial activity study

Styrax benzoin fumes have a spiritual aspect from ancient times, magical essence like a pleasant perfume, and are employed in religious ceremonies in India. This study aims to identify the volatile compounds in S. benzoin extract, their binding affinity to the bacterial target proteins, and study the antibacterial activity of the potential extract. The compounds obtained from GC-MS analysis of S. benzoin extract were subjected to molecular docking studies against DHFR of Staphylococcus aureus, tRNA synthetase of Escherichia coli, DHPS of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Molecular docking studies revealed that seventeen compounds out of 20 compounds exhibited higher binding affinity than co-ligand (-7.00 kcal/mol) against the Staphylococcus aureus enzyme DHFR. Consequently, the crude extracts were evaluated for antibacterial activity against S. aureus, and the acetone extract showed promising findings. S. benzoin fumes might replace synthetic room fresheners, and promising compounds could be exploited in the cosmetics industry.

A new epicatechin glucopyranoside derivative from Styrax suberifolius

A new derivative of epicatechin glucopyranoside, (2R,3R)-3,7,4'-trihydroxy-5,3'-dimethoxyflavan 7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (1), together with three mononuclear phenolic acid esters, methyl orsellinate (2), ethyl orsellinate (3) and methyl β-orcinolcarboxylate (4) were isolated from the bark of Styrax suberifolius. The structures of 1-4 were determined on the basis of extensive analysis of NMR and MS spectra combined with chemical hydrolysis. The antifungal activities of the isolated compounds against three plant pathogenic fungi, Alternaria solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Phomopsis cytospore were evaluated using radial growth inhibition assay. Compounds 2, 3 and 4 exerted selective inhibitory activities against the tested fungi. Among of them, methyl β-orcinolcarboxylate (4) exhibited obvious inhibitory effect against P. cytospore, with an inhibition rate of 86.72% at 100 μg/ml.