On the basis of antibacterial anacardic acids, 6-pentadecenylsalicylic acids, isolated from the cashew apple, Anacardium occidentale L.(Anacardiaceae), a series of 6-alk (en) ylsalicylic acids were synthesized and tested for their antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175. Among them, 6-(4′, 8′-dimethylnonyl) salicylic acid was found to exhibit the most potent antibacterial activity against this cariogenic bacterium ...