Chemical Investigation and Antibacterial Activity of the Leaves of Peperomia pellucida L. HBK (Piperaceae)

Author Details
Okenwa Uchenna Igwe* and Nkoli Mary-Ann Mgbemena
Department of Chemistry, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, P.M.B. 7267 Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria 

Abstract
The chemical components of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of Peperomia pellucida was characterized using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) technique and fifteen compounds were identified which include bicyclo[7.2.0]undec-4-ene, 4,11,11-trimethyl-8-methylene(2.27%), 10,12-octadecadiynoic acid(2.81%), 3,7,11,11-tetramethylbicyclo [8.1.0] undeca-2,6-diene (5.45%),2,6-bis (1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methyl phenol (1.18%), 1,2-dimethoxy-4-(2-methoxyethenyl) benzene(8.09%), 1,3-benzodioxole, 4,7-dimethoxy-5-(2-propenyl)(14.96%), oxalic acid, cyclohexylmethyl tridecyl ester(1.48%), ethyl alpha-d-glucopyranoside (10.91%), hexadecanoic acid methyl ester(9.13%), hexadecanoic acid ethyl ester(3.30%), 10-octadecenoic acid methyl ester(15.32%), 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol(16.61), (Z)6,(Z)9-pentadecadien-1-ol(3.87%), 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid ethyl ester(2.73%) and N,N-dimethyldodecanamide(1.88%).The extract exhibited marked antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi and Proteus mirabilis. The synergistic effect of these compounds might have caused the high antibacterial activity shown by the extract against the test organisms. These results therefore offer cogent evidence that strengthens the reason behind the wide applicability of Peperomia pellucida in herbal medicine in Nigeria.
Keywords: Peperomia pellucida, Chemical Investigation, GC-MS Analysis, Antibacterial Activity, Herbal Medicine.