In the present investigation, comparison of antimicrobial activities of different spices,
Emergence of new technologies in food preservation leads to a reduction in the levels of preservatives and promotes the use of “naturally derived antimicrobials of animal, plants, and microbial origin [
Spices, herbs, and their constituents are generally recogonised as safe (GRAS) and approved by several regulatory agencies such as US Food and Drug Act, the European Union standards, Codex Alimentarius, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India [
Ethnobotanical description, phytochemical composition, regulatory status, and part of plants used in antimicrobial study.
Scientific name | Common name | Family | Plant part tested | Phytoconstituents of part used | Traditional uses | References |
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Apiaceae | Whole plant | Saponins, asiaticosides, brahminoside, and centelloside | Recommended for the treatment of various skin conditions such as leprosy, lupus, varicose ulcers, eczema, psoriasis, diarrhoea, fever, and amenorrhea and diseases of the female genitourinary tract | [ |
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Haldi | Zingiberaceae | Rhizome | Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), |
Used to treat gastrointestinal upsets and arthritis pain and is tonic for the digestive system | [ |
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Amla | Euphorbiaceae | Leaves | Gallic acid, ethyl gallate, 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloylglucose, and luteolin-4′-O-neohesperidoside | Source of Vitamin C, enhances food absorption, balances stomach acids, fortifies the liver, supports the heart, and promotes healthier hair | [ |
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Pudina | Lamiaceae | Leaves | Tannins, phenols, steroids, flavonoids, and volatile oils | Used to treat liver and spleen diseases, Asthma, and Jaundice | [ |
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Sarpagandha | Apocynaceae | Leaves | Alkaloids | Therapeutic actions being mainly effective in the treatment of hypertension and psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, anxiety, insomnia, and insanity | [ |
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Arjun | Combretaceae | Leaves | Flavonoid | Used as a remedy for the treatment of ear ache | [ |
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Ashwagandha | Solanaceae | Leaves | Steroidal withanolides | Claimed to have potent aphrodisiac rejuvenative and life-prolonging properties | [ |
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Saunth, dried ginger | Zingiberaceae | Rhizome | Gingerol (5-hydroxy-1-(4 hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) decan-3-one) | Commonly used in food products and beverages, carminative, antispasmodic, digestive, stomachic, vasodilator, appetizer, expectorant, bronchodilator, topical and local stimulant, analgesic, antiflatulent, aphrodisiac, antitussive, arthritis, rheumatism, sprains, muscular aches, pains, and laxative | [ |
Spices and herbs, owing to their natural origin, attract more attention of consumers that have doubt regarding the safety of chemical preservatives. Several plant extracts have gained momentum in recent years due to their bioactive principals and formed the basis of pharmaceutical and food processing industries [
Unpasteurized fruit juice consumption has increased in the last decades, which is attributed to the contents of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Fresh fruit juices are highly vulnerable to spoilage, since fluid components are in contact with air and microorganisms form the environment while handling [
Therefore, the main objective of this study was to examine the
Three Indian spices, pudina, saunth, and haldi, were procured from local market in Yamunanagar, Haryana, India. Four medicinal plants herbs, amla, brahmi, ashwgandha, arjun, and sarpagandha were collected from Ch. Devi Lal Park at Khizrabad, Yamunanagar, Haryana, India. The taxonomic identity of these plants was confirmed by Dr. B. D. Vashishta, plant taxonomist, professor in the Department of Botany, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. The scientific name and tested parts of the 8 plants are detailed in Table
Four different solvents, namely, ethanol, methanol, acetone, and aqueous (hot and cold), were used for extraction and plant extracts were prepared according to the methods described by Sharma et al. [
In the previous study [
Two bacteria, namely,
The acetone, methanol, ethanol, and hot and cold aqueous extracts of different plants were used for evaluation of antimicrobial activity by the agar well diffusion method. In this method, a pure isolate of bacteria and yeast was grown on NA and PDA plates and incubated at 37°C and 25°C for 24 h and 72 h, respectively. One plate of each microorganism was taken and colonies were transferred into normal saline (0.85%) under aseptic conditions. Density of each microbial suspension was adjusted to be equal to that of 106 cfu/mL (standardized by 0.5 McFarland standard) and to be used as the inoculum for performing an agar well diffusion assay. 100
The antimould activity of plant extracts in different solvent was accessed by poison food technique. 100
Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for each test organism was determined by the broth macrodilution method [
The experimental results were repeated thrice in triplicate each time and expressed as mean ± SD and results were statistically evaluated using SPSS software version 16 at 5% significant level. Means were compared using Tukey’s simultaneous test set at
The dietary herb and spices are used as food additives in foods not only to improve the sensory characteristics of food but also to increase the shelf life by reducing or eliminating survival of pathogenic bacteria [
In the present study, the antimicrobial activity of the different plant extracts in different solvents was examined. Perusal data in Table
Antimicrobial activity of plant extracts in different solvents.
Plant | Solvent | Diameter of inhibition zone | Percentage mycelia inhibition | |||
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Acetone |
23.3 |
— | — | — | — |
Methanol | 27.3 |
15.3 |
18.3 |
24.6 |
23.3 |
|
Ethanol | 29.3 |
12.3 |
20.6 |
26.3 |
24.3 |
|
Cold aqueous | — | — | — | — | — | |
Hot aqueous | — | — | — | — | — | |
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Acetone | 22.3 |
13.3 |
— | — | — |
Methanol | 20.3 |
— | — | — | — | |
Ethanol | 17.3 |
— | — | — | — | |
Cold aqueous | — | — | — | — | — | |
Hot aqueous | — | — | — | — | — | |
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Acetone | 22.3 |
19.3 |
18.6 |
19.3 |
20.6 |
Methanol | 19.6 |
14.3 |
16.3 |
17.6 |
18.3 |
|
Ethanol | 17.3 |
15.3 |
14.3 |
12.6 |
13.6 |
|
Cold aqueous | 14.6 |
— | — | — | — | |
Hot aqueous | 12.6 |
— | — | — | — | |
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Acetone | 26.3 |
19.3 |
— | 22.3 |
20.6 |
Methanol | 23.3 |
14.3 |
— | 17.6 |
15.3 |
|
Ethanol | 24.3 |
16.6 |
— | 16.6 |
14.3 |
|
Cold aqueous | 19.3 |
11.3 |
— | — | — | |
Hot aqueous | 15.6 |
— | — | — | — | |
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Acetone | 22.3 |
21.3 |
— | 17.3 |
19.3 |
Methanol | 26.6 |
18.6 |
— | 15.6 |
12.6 |
|
Ethanol | 25.6 |
17.3 |
— | — | — | |
Cold aqueous |
19.3 |
14.6 |
— | — | — | |
Hot aqueous | 17.6 |
12.6 |
— | — | — | |
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Acetone | 19.3 |
18.6 |
17.6 |
20.6 |
17.3 |
Methanol | 24.6 |
22.6 |
19.3 |
24.6 |
21.3 |
|
Ethanol | 21.3 |
19.3 |
16.6 |
21.6 |
15.6 |
|
Cold aqueous | 15.6 |
14.6 |
13.3 |
11.6 |
10.3 |
|
Hot aqueous | 12.3 |
— | — | — | ||
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Acetone | 20.3 |
18.6 |
— | 18.3 |
19.6 |
Methanol | 15.6 |
13.3 |
— | 20.6 |
22.3 |
|
Ethanol | 14.3 |
12.3 |
— | 22.6 |
23.3 |
|
Cold aqueous | — | — | — | — | — | |
Hot aqueous | — | — | — | — | — | |
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Acetone | 23.3 |
18.6 |
— | — | — |
Methanol | 21.3 |
13.6 |
— | — | — | |
Ethanol | 19.3 |
11.3 |
— | — | — | |
Cold aqueous | 17.6 |
— | — | — | — | |
Hot aqueous | 12.3 |
— | — | — | — | |
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Sodium benzoate | 20.6 |
16.6 |
14.6 |
30.6 ± 0.57 | 26.3 ± 0.57 |
For
For
For
Of the two moulds tested, for
Literature search revealed the
Ethanolic extract of
Sunilson et al. [
The extraction of biologically active compound from plant material is largely dependent on the type of the solvent used in the extraction procedure. The present study revealed that the organic extracts provided more powerful antimicrobial activity compared to aqueous extracts. Among the organic extracts, alcoholic extracts displayed the best antimicrobial activity in comparison to acetonic extracts (Table
The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined for 31 active plant extracts which show antimicrobial activity against microbes associated with juices (Table
MIC of plant extracts in different solvents.
Plant | Solvent | MIC value of different plant extracts | ||||
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Acetone | 12.5 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt |
Methanol | 6.25 | 25 | 25 | 12.5 | 12.5 | |
Ethanol | 3.12 | Nt | 12.5 | 6.25 | 12.5 | |
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Acetone | 12.5 | 50 | Nt | Nt | Nt |
Methanol | 12.5 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
Ethanol | 25 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
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Acetone | 12.5 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 12.5 |
Methanol | 12.5 | 50 | 25 | 25 | 25 | |
Ethanol | 25 | 50 | 50 | Nt | 50 | |
Cold aqueous | 50 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
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Acetone | 6.25 | 25 | Nt | 12.5 | 12.5 |
Methanol | 12.5 | 50 | Nt | 25 | 25 | |
Ethanol | 6.25 | 25 | Nt | 25 | 50 | |
Cold aqueous | 50 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
Hot aqueous | 50 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
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Acetone | 25 | 12.5 | Nt | 25 | 25 |
Methanol | 12.5 | 25 | Nt | 50 | Nt | |
Ethanol | 6.25 | 25 | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
Cold aqueous | 25 | 50 | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
Hot aqueous | 25 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
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Acetone | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Methanol | 12.5 | 12.5 | 50 | 12.5 | 12.5 | |
Ethanol | 12.5 | 25 | 25 | 12.5 | 50 | |
Cold aqueous | 25 | 50 | 50 | Nt | Nt | |
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Acetone | 12.5 | 25 | Nt | 25 | 25 |
Methanol | 50 | 50 | Nt | 12.5 | 12.5 | |
Ethanol | 50 | Nt | Nt | 12.5 | 12.5 | |
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Acetone | 12.5 | 25 | Nt | Nt | Nt |
Methanol | 12.5 | 50 | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
Ethanol | 25 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
Cold aqueous | 25 | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
Hot aqueous | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | Nt | |
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Sodium benzoate | 12.5 | 25 | 50 | 12.5 | 12.5 |
Nt: not tested.
The results of present work established that all the tested plant extracts possess antimicrobial activity against selected microbes associated with juices. Alcoholic extracts of medicinal herbs such as
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.
The authors are thankful for Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, for the financial assistance.