Antibacterial activity of Vitex cymosa extracts and identification of ayanin

Vitex cymosa Bertero ex Spreng., a species that belongs to Lamiaceae family, is known for producingiridoids and flavonoids, which exhibit therapeutic properties, including antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.Since several bacteria strains are developing resistance to the commercially available antibiotics it is of greatimportance to perform bioprospection studies aiming to evaluate plant extracts and isolate the active substances.This research evaluated V. cymosa extracts against Staphylococcus aureus and against the bioindicator Artemiasalina and fractionated the methanolic extract of its flowers and fruits. The results demonstrated that the hexaneand methanolic extracts from the branches, leaves, and flowers/fruits of V. cymosa inhibited S. aureus growthup to 93% and they were non-toxic against A. salina. Fractionation of the methanolic extract of the flowers/fruitsled to the isolation of the flavone ayanin, a compound with various biological applications. This is the first reportof the isolation of ayanin in the genus Vitex. These findings support further studies on V. cymosa, particularly inthe context of developing new antibiotic agents.