Phytochemical Investigation of Resins from Kenyan Commiphora holtziana

Commiphora holtziana gum resins when solvent extracted followed by a combination of chromatographic separation techniques on hexane extract of the Wajir sample, led to the isolation and characterization of a new compound, 11–hydroxy-?-muurolene 1. In addition, two known compounds, (1E)-2-methoxy-8,12-
epoxygermacra-1(10),7,11-triene-6-one 2 and (1E)-3-methoxy-8,12-epoxygermacra-1,7(8),10(15),11-tetraen-6-
one 3 were also characterized. A total of 14 compounds were identified by the comparison of the mass spectra with data available in the GC – MS library. Both dichloromethane and hexane extracts from both Isiolo and Wajir populations showed antibacterial activity. In addition the hexane extract from Wajir population showed antifungal properties. The acetone extract from Wajir population showed antibacterial properties. Activities were observed against Fungi, Gram (+) bacteria and Gram (-) bacteria. Pure compounds did not show any activity.