Agriculture & Food Chemistry

Biography

Hang Xun is a Doctoral candidate in International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, China.  His research works during the Doctoral study include: Separation and identification of secondary metabolites from bamboo, and screening the bio-activates of related natural products.

 

Abstract

Zongzi, which is believed to have a history of more than 2000 years, is a type of famous Chinese snack that is also popular in many Asian countries. It is made of glutinous rice and wrapped in the large flat bamboo leaves of Indocalamus latifolius McClure. Zongzi has been characterized by a long shelf life since ancient times. In this research, we examined the phytoconstituents of I. latifolius McClure leaves in detail and their antibacterial activities against two gram positive and two gram negative bacterial strains. Four new compounds, along with six known compounds were isolated from I. latifolius McClure leaves. The structures and relative configurations of the compounds were determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis. All of the isolated compounds were screened for their antibacterial activities in vitro. The results indicated that apigenin 6-C-α-L[1]arabinopyranosyl-8-C-β-D-glucopyranoside and apigenin 7-O, 8-C-di-glucopyranoside have antibacterial activities against four bacterial strains. Since ancient times, the leaves of I. latifolius McClure have been used as a packaging material for food and presently, they still play a unique role in producing zongzi in China. The identification of the antibacterial compounds in the leaves of I. latifolius McClure is important for helping us to understand the long shelf life of zongzi as well as for exploring the potential of I. latifolius McClure leaves as a natural, healthy and eco-friendly alternative packaging material for other applications.