As shown by Haibo TAN and colleagues at CAS South China Botanical Garden, rhodomyrtosone B shows high antibacterial activity with a MIC of 0.62 – 1.25 µg/L against MRSA and 2.5 µg/L against vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis. They showed that the mechanism of action of rhodomyrosone B and its derivatives relates to perturbation of bacterial membrane potential and an increase in membrane permeability. By screening a series of synthetic derivatives for anti-resistant bacteria activity and their structure-activity relationship, up to 4-5 times more active lead compounds were obtained and their antibacterial activity verified in vivo experiment. Rhodomyrtosone B is obtained from the leaves of Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Aiton) Hassk, also named Rose myrtle, and leaves of this plant are used for the treatment of wound infections in traditional Chinese medicine.
CAS news release, November 28, 2018