Antimicrobial Activity of Novel Phenolic Compounds from Green Pepper (Piper nigrumL.)

Pepper is known to be antibacterial. Two new phenolic compounds reported to be present in green pepper but absent in black, were tested for their antibacterial activity against the foodborne pathogens, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphyloccus aureus, Bacillus cereus andEscherichia coli. The compounds 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl ethanol glucoside (A) and 3,4-dihydroxy-6-(Nethylamino) benzamide (B) were found to inhibit the growth of all of the four bacteria tested. Growth inhibitory action of Compound A (2.25 mmol/L) was nearly equal to that of 4-methylcatechol (2 mmol/L), while compound B was less effective (7.6 mmol/L) probably due to its unstable nature.