Structural characterization of n-hexadecanoic acid from the leaves of Ipomoea eriocarpa and its antioxidant and antibacterial activities

The present study was to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of n-hexadecanoic acid from the leaves of Ipomoea eriocarpa through aqueous ethanol extraction and further purification by column chromatography. The structure characterization of the isolated compound was elucidated by FTIR, ESI-MS, H-1-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The antioxidant activities of n-hexadecanoic acid were as follows: DPPH (30.19-89.13% at 100-500 mu g/ml), ABTS (42.18-83.86% at 100-500 mu g/ml), reducing power (0.02-0.16% at 100-500 mu g/ml), nitric oxide (18.65-73.17% at 100-500 mu g/ml), and superoxide (17.18-81.21% at 100-500 mu g/ml) respectively. The n-hexadecanoic acid showed that moderate antibacterial activity against S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, and K. pneumoniae was 7.96 +/- 0.05 mm, 10.96 +/- 0.15 mm, 11.10 +/- 0.17 mm, and 11.93 +/- 0.11 mm at the maximum concentration of 50 mu g/ml. Hence, the good biological activity of the n-hexadecanoic acid from I. eriocarpa could be used as a natural antioxidant and antibacterial agent in the future pharmaceutical industry.

Automated summary

The present study evaluated the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of n-hexadecanoic acid from the leaves of Ipomoea eriocarpa. The results showed that n-hexadecanoic acid exhibited good antioxidant and antibacterial activities, suggesting its potential as a natural antioxidant and antibacterial agent in the pharmaceutical industry.