Chemical characteristics and antimicrobial effects of some Eucalyptus kinos

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Eucalyptus kinos are tannin-rich, mostly red-coloured wood exudates. They have played an important role in the traditional medicines of Australian Aboriginal people and were also a valued source of antibacterial and astringent agents for early European settlers.

Materials and methods: Nineteen different Eucalyptus kinos were collected and analysed for their total phenolics and total tannin content as well as their relative amounts of hydrolysable and condensed tannins. They were also classified in accordance with Maiden's traditional kino categories. Well plate diffusion assays using three Gram positive and two Gram negative bacteria and a yeast species were carried out to assess antimicrobial properties.

Results: The investigated kino samples differ strongly in their total phenolics and overall tannin as well as their relative hydrolysable and condensed tannin contents. All but one could be assigned to one of the traditional Maiden kino classes. The samples, in particular those collected from Corymbia maculata and Eucalyptus ficifolia, demonstrated a strong antibacterial activity towards Gram positive bacteria but were inactive against the Gram negative strains and the yeast. No obvious correlation seems to exist between a particular Maiden class and antibacterial activity but there is a positive correlation between total phenolics/tannin content and antibacterial effect although two of the investigated kinos (Eucalyptus flocktoniae and Eucalyptus sargentii) deviated from this trend. The relative amounts of hydrolysable and condensed tannins in a kino sample do not seem to determine the antibacterial effect.

Conclusion: Eucalpytus kinos present an interesting class of natural products which should be investigated further, not only to contribute to the growing field of tannin chemistry but to also learn more about the individual role played by the various hydrolysable and condensed tannins that determine a kino's antibacterial activity and to contribute to a better understanding of the use of some of these kinos in traditional systems of medicine. In particular samples like Eucalyptus flocktoniae kino, which recorded a higher antibacterial activity than predicted based on total tannin content, warrant more detailed chemical and antimicrobial analyses.