Diterpenoids in Burnatia enneandra micheli (alismataceae) are active constituents by demonstrating its antibacterial activities.

Burnatia enneandra was traditionally used across the world for medicinal purposes. In Cameroon, this plant treats injuries, stomach aches and some intestinal parasites. Therefore, the bioactive molecules responsible for these potentials and their mechanisms of action remain unknown. This study investigates, for the first time, the antibacterial effects of isolated compounds from B. enneandra and their effective use for therapeutic purposes without side effects. The bioactive molecules of B. enneandra were obtained from ethyl acetate extract (EA.E) by applying various chromatographic methods. The structures were elucidated using HR-ESI-MS and 1D- & 2D-NMR spectroscopic data in addition to literature. The antibacterial activity was evaluated on four bacteria strains. As a results, one new diterpenoid of the clerodane (1) type, together with five known diterpenoids (2, 3, 4, 5, 6), was isolated in the EA.E of B. enneandra tubers. All tested negative-gram bacteria strains showed high MIC against isolated compound (1) at 0.04 µmol/mL.