Investigations of Soap Tree: Chemistry and Biology

Soap tree leaves are used by the Australian Aboriginal people of Yaegl Country for the treatment of sores, wounds and skin infections. Structural elucidation of compounds isolated from the extracts of these leaves identified a number of well-known antibacterial and antioxidant compounds including ß-sitosterol, betulin aldehyde, betulinic acid, lupeol, quercetin and kaempferol. LC-MS and GC-MS analysis of freshly extracted leaves identified the bioactive compounds ¿-sitosterol, nonanal, n-tetracontane, docosane, 1,54-dibromotetrapentacontane, tetradecane and hexadecane. The extracts also showed moderate activity against antibiotic sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus and promising antioxidant activity. This study has extended the phytochemical and biological knowledge of soap tree and shown that it is a worthy plant for further chemical and biological investigations as it has great potential in agricultural development.