桃樹(Prunus persica)為薔薇科(Rosaceae)植物,其花、果實及葉子在中醫臨床上有其不同之作用。本研究採集嘉義縣梅山鄉之台灣傳統醫藥用桃葉,作為藥敏實驗的材料,並以金黃色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)及白色念珠球菌(Candida albicans)等菌株作為先期篩檢菌種,測試桃葉分離化合物之抗菌效果,研究結果發現在十個不同濃度處理中,甲醇粗萃取物隨著受試藥液濃度的增加,抑菌效果也會隨之升高。利用液相萃取法分離桃葉甲醇粗萃取物,結果發現正己烷、乙酸乙酯及正丁醇萃取物在各個不同處理中,並沒有明顯的抑菌效果,而水層萃取物卻具有明顯的抑菌效果,最低有效抑菌濃度為3.34 mg,抑菌能力接近Oxacillin,將水層萃取物以Diaion HP-20 管柱層析法分離,得到水層、甲醇層及丙酮層三個分離部。再次經由抗菌活性測試,發現丙酮層為具有抗菌能力之分層。利用高效液相層析法進行有效成分定量分析,將丙酮層以Sephadex LH-20管柱層析法分離,再以甲醇沖提,分離純化得到純化合物2,4,6-triphenylhex-l-ene。 以皮膚功效性評估,塗擦桃葉精華液濃度1-3 mL /cm2於受測皮膚位置,發現使用桃葉萃取物後1-3小時,各部位皮膚pH值明顯降低,維持在pH 5.2-5.8之間,故桃葉萃取物在pH值有顯著變化;使用桃葉萃取物3小時內,血色素與黑色素並無明顯差異,而使用12小時後發現在額頭、臉頰及下巴血色素有顯著增加之情形,但黑色素無明顯變化。在保濕、皮脂分泌含量 之測試並無直接之改變。由於桃葉可以有效的抑制金黃色葡萄球菌,所以值得再進一步研究其有效成分作為抗菌之藥物開發。桃葉在皮膚有效性評估,未來可進一步探討其在抗氧化及美白生物活性探討,以作為中草藥在化妝品應用之參考,並逐步建立中草藥美容生技之研發平台。
Prunus persica belongs to the family Rosaceae. The flowers, fruit, and leaves of P. Persica are clinically used in traditional Chinese medicine. Leaves of P. Persica were collected from Meishan Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan. Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans strains were used to study the antibacterial activity of the crude methanol extracts from the leaves of P. Persica. The results showed that the anti-bacteria activity was dose-dependent. The crude methanol extracts was partitioned to hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol, and H2O fractions respectively and subjected to antibacterial activity. No activity was found with hexane, ethyl acetate and butanol fractions. However, strong anti-bacterial activity was found with H2O fraction. The lowest effective inhibitory concentration of crude H2O extract was 3.34 mg similar to Oxacillin. The H2O fraction was further subjected to HPLC (Diaion HP-20 and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography) to obtain purified compound 2,4,6-triphenylhex-l-ene. The crude methanol extracts were also evaluated for its effectiveness to the skin. The pH value decreased to 5.4 but no significant difference in hemoglobin and melanin level was found, when 1-3 mL/ cm2 of extract was subjected to skin for the period of 1-3 hours. There was no significant change in melanin content, whereas hemoglobin level increased significantly on forehead, chin and cheeks after 12 hours of treatment. The moisture content and sebum secretion was unaltered throughout the study. The leaves of P. Persica showed strong anti-bacteria activity. The present study could be significant for development of the new anti-bacteria drug. The leaf extracts of P. Persica on skin efficacy model, can be use to research bioactivities on anti-oxidant and skin-whitening, for development cosmetic application of traditional Chinese medicine.