Nonanoic acid, an antifungal compound from Hibiscus syriacus Ggoma

The root of Hibiscus syriacus (Malvaceae) has been used for treatment of fungal diseases such as tinea pedis (athlete's foot). In this study, we investigated the antifungal constituent of the root of Hibiscus syriacus Ggoma, which was produced by a mutation breeding using gamma ray irradiation, and compared the antifungal activity of H. syriacus Ggoma and its parent type. According to the results, the methanolic extract of H. syriacus Ggoma exhibited four times higher antifungal activity than its parent type against Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Following purification through various column chromatographies, the antifungal substance was identified as nonanoic acid on the basis of spectroscopic analysis.