Yasser Shahbazi
1*1 Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.
Abstract
Background: As people demand to consume natural foods due to
health concerns, the investigation of natural compounds for the discovery of
new constituents with antibacterial and antioxidant properties is increasing.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate antioxidant and antibacterial
activities of some fruits including apple (Malus pumila), grape (Vitis
vinifera), pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) and common fig (Ficus
carica L.) produced in Kermanshah, west of Iran.
Methods: The antibacterial activity of fruit extracts were
examined by broth micro-dilution and agar disk diffusion methods. Their
antioxidant activity were measured using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH),
ferric reducing antioxidant power, β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching and
thiobarbituric acid (TBA) methods. The contents of total phenolic (TP) and
total flavonoid (TF) of extracts were determined using Folin Ciocalteu and
colorimetric methods, respectively.
Results: The highest and
lowest antibacterial effects were found for P. granatum and F. carica
extracts, respectively. The most antibacterial effect was observed against Bacillus
subtilis, followed by B. cereus and Staphylococcus aureus,
respectively. The similar sensitivity was observed for Listeria
monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli
O157:H7. P. granatum extract had a significant higher DPPH radical
scavenging (0.16 ± 0.07 mg/ml), ability to prevent the bleaching of β-carotene
(0.09 ± 0.01 mg/ml), ferric reducing power (0.33 ± 0.03 mg/ml) and TBA (0.27 ±
0.01 Meq malondialdehyde/g) values. The highest TP and TF were found in P. granatum,
followed by V. vinifera, M. pumila, and F. carica,
respectively, which were in consistent with the results of antioxidant and
antibacterial properties.
Conclusions: The strong in
vitro antioxidant activities of investigated fruit extracts support their
traditional application in the treatment and/or prevention of different
diseases.