Antimicrobial property of (+)-lyoniresinol-3α-O-β-D-glucopyranoside isolated from the root bark of Lycium chinense Miller against human pathogenic microorganisms

(+)-Lyoniresinol-3 alpha-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1) was isolated from an ethyl acetate extract of the root bark from Lycium chinense Miller, and its structure was determined using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy including DEPT, HMQC, and HMBC. (+)-Lyoniresinol-3 alpha-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside exhibited potent antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from patients, and human pathogenic fungi without having any hemolytic effect on human erythrocytes. In particular, compound 1 induced the accumulation of intracellular trehalose on C. albicans as stress response to the drug, and disrupted the dimorphic transition that forms pseudo-hyphae caused by the pathogenesis. This indicates that (+)-lyoniresinol-3 alpha-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside has excellent potential as a lead compound for the development of antibiotic agents.