Abstract: To explore the material basis of antibacterial activity of Coptis chinensis Franch.,Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used as experiments bacteria for antimicrobial activity,different solvent extracts,components and compounds were tracked gradually. Coptis chinensis Franch. powder was extracted by different solvent,then the crude extracts from Coptis chinensis Franch. was divided into different components by chemical methods which were alkaloids,non-alkaloids,and polysaccharides. Further alkaloids which had obvious activity were separated and purified by high-speed countercurrent chromatography（HSCCC）,four alkaloids were simultaneously obtained： palmatine,berberine and coptisine,and epiberberine. The results showed that the sensitive range of all samples were the same which had better activity on Staphylococcus aureus than Escherichia coli,but the antibacterial activity of the former was better than the latter. The 100% alcohol extracts of Coptis chinensis Franch. had the best antibacterial activity in the different solvent extracts,alkaloids were its main active constituents which was obvious better active than berberine of the four main alkaloids,berberine and coptisine were the most active,and there are maybe synergistic antibacterial relations between the four main alkaloids.

Key words: Coptis chinensis Franch., berberine, constituents, alkaloids, anti-microbial