Comparison of chemical constituents in diverse zanthoxylum herbs, and evaluation of their relative antibacterial and nematicidal activity

The zanthoxylum herbs are the dual-purpose Chinese herbal medicine and functional food favored by East and Southeast Asians. In this study, nematicidal and antibacterial major active components among ten typical zanthoxylum herbs (ethanol extracts) were investigated comprehensively by high resolution mass spectrometry. The major ingredients and their contents were analyzed, especially summarizing the typical fragment ions of alkaloids, amides, lignans, and coumarins of zanthoxylum herbs. We found that ethanol extracts of zanthoxylum herbs showed significantly high antibacterial properties. The MICs values of Zanthoxylum piasezkii Maxim (CJ), Zanthoxylum khasianum Hook (HJ), and Zanthoxylum armatum DC (ZYHJ) with S. aureus, MRSA, S. hemolyiicus and C. albicans were 0.1-0.5 mg/mL, respectively. In addition, CJ extract (1 mg/mL) had a significant effect on killing nematode eggs (p < 0.001). Through the multivariate analysis, we found that the main components of the CJ and ZYHJ in antibacterial activities are similar. The content of amides was less in CJ, but its nematicidal capacity was better. The results provided a valuable guidance for the chemical differentiation and proper application of zanthoxylum herbs in the fields of functional foods and medicinal herbs.