Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the extracts and essential oil of Blumea balsamifera from the Philippines

Abstract

Blumea balsamifera is a registered traditional medicine in the Philippines for the diuretic treatment of kidney stones. It is commonly available in tablet, capsule, and tea formats. This study aims to investigate the antibacterial activity and chemical components of local Blumea balsamifera leaf methanol extract, hexane extract, and essential oil to determine their potential application in treating bacterial urinary and digestive tract infections. The identified compounds were β-carotene and predominantly flavonoids, including quercetin, blumeatin, hyperoside, padmatin, 3', 5, 5', 7-tetrahydroxyflavanone, 3-O-methylquercetin, and 7-methyleriodictyol, from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) data. These compounds were found in the methanol extract. Terpenes, including eudesmol, borneol, caryophyllene oxide, guaiol, (E)-caryophyllene, and α-curcumene were identified as the primary components of the essential oil by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Methanol and hexane extracts exhibited antibacterial activity against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus with MICs of 3 and 5 mg/mL, respectively. The essential oil inhibited methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with respective MIC values of 2 and 3 mg/mL. However, no potential activity against other test organisms was detected. Isolation and standardization of the bioactive components from Blumea balsamifera leaf extracts can be further studied in an application to treat microbial infections.