Antimicrobial Property of 2-Hydroxypropane-1,2,3-Tricarboxylic Acid Isolated from Citrus microcarpa Extract

Abstract

This article described antimicrobial property and structure analysis of 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid isolated from the crude extract of Citrus microcarpa. Presently, there was no report on compound from C. microcarpa that possessed antimicrobial property against fish pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, in this study, the bioactive principle in C. microcarpa extract was isolated using thin layer chromatography. It's structure was elucidated based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data, such as proton NMR (1HNMR), correlation spectroscopy, carbon 13 NMR, and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation data. This study showed that the bioactive compound isolated from C. microcarpa was 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid monohydrate. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of crude C. microcarpa extract and its bioactive component, 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid as well as commercially available synthetic 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid, were determined against 18 isolates of Edwardsiella tarda and 7 bacterial reference strains, namely, Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Citrobacter freundii (ATCC 8090), Aeromonas hydrophila (ATCC 49140), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 35032), Streptococcus agalatiae (ATCC 13813), E. tarda (ATCC 15947), and Yersinia enterocolitica (ATCC 23715), using two-fold microdilution method. The MIC values for both the natural 2-hydroxypropane-1,2,3-tricarboxylic acid and the synthetic one were ranging from 15.6 to 62.5 mg mL−1, whereas that of the crude extract was ranging from 7.8 to 31.3 mg mL−1. These findings showed that both the crude extract and its bioactive component might have potential as antimicrobial agent for aquaculture use.