국내 식물 150종과 인도네시아 식물 82종의 항균활성을 검색하였다. 각 시료의 70% ethanol 추출물을 사용하여, 세균류인 Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 및 효모인 Candida albicans, 사상균인 Aspergillus niger를 대상으로 측정하였다. 검색 결과, 국내산 17종과 인도네시아산 18종이 비교적 항균활성이 좋았으며, 이중 강황, 소목, 육두구, 익지인, 죽엽, 초두구 등과 asam, bolong-bolong, clove, gambir, klembak, pasak bumi 등이 우수한 항균력을 나타내었다. 가장 항균력이 우수한 육두구(Myristica fragrans)와 bolong-bolong(Melaleuca leucadendra)의 주 활성 분획을 분석한 결과, 육두구의 주 항균성분은 limonene과 caprylic acid로, Bolong-bolong의 주 항균성분은 ${alpha}-terpineol$로 나타났다.
Antimicrobial effects of 150 kinds of Korean and 82 kinds of Indonesian plants were investigated to develope natural food preservatives. Extracts of the plants with 70% ethanol were tested their antimicrobial effects against several food spoilage microorganisms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Seventeen kinds of Korean and eighteen kinds of Indonesian plants were found relatively effective, of which Myristica fragrans and Melaleuca leucadendra were the most effective, respectively. The major fractions of the two plant extracts showing antimicrobial activity were further purified by solvent fractionation, silicagel column chromatography and preparative HPLC. The purified substances were identified as limonene and caprylic acid in M. fragrans, and ${alpha}-terpineol$ in M. leucadendra, respectively.
