Potential of Xylopia aethipica as Alternative Therapeutics against Staphylococuus aureus

Xylopia aethiopica is a fragrant evergreen tree belong to Annonaceae family with an average height of 20 m. It is a native to the ‘Sahel’ savanna zones of Africa, occurring from Senegal to Sudan [ 1 ] [ 2 ]. The dried fruits are used in herbal medicine to treat cough, stomache disorder, infections, malaria, syphilis and dysentery [ 3 ]. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of fruit extracts against Staphylococcus aureus , and to identify the chemical components in the active extracts.The decoction, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and hexane extracts effectively inhibited the growth of S. aureus showing inhibition zone diameters from 23.8-27.2 mm. The methanol extract displayed a MIC value at 313 μg/ml, whereas the ethyl acetate and dicholromethane extracts gave a MIC value of 625 μg/ml. The chemical analysis using UPLC/QTOF-MS revealed the presence of wide range of different chemical clasess in the ethyl acetate extracts, including phenols as chlorogenic acid (m/z 354.3090), rutin (m/z 610.5180), and two hydroxycinnamic acid of coumaroylquinic acid at m/z 338.31 and caffeoylquinic acid (Neochlorogenic Acid) at m/z 354.3. In addition, two kauranes class diterpene such as xylopic acid (m/z 360.4871) and kaurenoic acid (m/z 302.451) were detected. This study provided additional scientific evidence for the use of Xylopia extracts-based therapeutics to treat bacterial infections in African traditional medicine. Besides, our results demonstrate that X. aethiopica extracts could be used for future opportunities to develop sustainable, plant-based antimicrobial therapies. Future research should focus on identifying and optimizing the bioactive compounds in extracts and on isolating the bioactive compounds for clinical and pharmaceutical applications. Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany