Isolation, characterisation and antibacterial activity studies of coumarins from Rhododendron lepidotum Wall. ex G. Don, Ericaceae

Six coumarins daphnin (1), daphnetin (2), daphnetin glucoside (3), rhodonetin (4), rhodonin (5) and umbelliferone (6) were isolated from the methanolic extract of Rhododendron lepidotum Wall. ex G. Don, Ericaceae (aerial part). The compounds and their acetyl derivatives were screened for antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC-29213, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC-15187, Escherichia coli ATCC-8739, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC-9027 by microdilution method as compared to the reference ciprofloxacin. Compound 2 displayed the best antibacterial activity with MIC 125 μg/mL against S. aureus ATCC-29213 and MRSA ATCC-15187 followed by 4 which exhibited the MIC value of 250 μg/mL against all the four tested strains. All molecules showed better antibacterial activity than their acyl derivatives