Abstract
The bacteriostatic activity of kojic acid derivatives, where various substituents are introduced into the 2- and/or 7-positions was analyzed in terms of the physicochemical characteristics of the substituents using the method developed by Hansch and his co-workers. Analyses show that 1) activity is attributable to the neutral form of the molecule in the medium, 2) the site of action seems to be in a region close to the bacterial cell surface, and 3) the higher the hydrophobicity of the substituents at the 7-position and the greater the electron withdrawal from the 3-hydroxyl group, the stronger the activity.
