Antibacterial Activity and Phytochemical Content of Silage Juice from Tropical Herbal Leaves

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate silage juice from tropical herbal leaves from Indonesia, namely Cordyline terminalis, Polyscias scutellaria, Cosmos caudatus, Hibiscus tileaceus, Syzygium aqueum and Swietenia mahagoni against pathogenic bacteria based on phytochemical content and lactic acid bacteria. This study consisted of two phases, the first phase was to explore 6 tropical herbal leavesin combination with maizecrop in making silage juice, whereas the second phase was the evaluation of 2 types of selected silage juices with different harvesting times. Parameters measured were consisted of lactic acid bacteria population, phytochemical screening qualitatively, tannin, phenolic, flavonoid contents and its ability to inhibit pathogenic bacteria, i.e., Eschericia coli and Salmonella thypimurium. Data were analyzed by description test with table as the result. Results showed that from 6 silage juice from tropical herbal leaves, it was taken 2 best leaves based on phytochemical content and total lactic acid bacteria, those were Cordyline terminalis and Polyscias scutellaria. Result of second phase research showed Cordyline terminalis had better phytochemical content than Polyscias scutellaria so its ability to inhibit pathogenic bacteria was bigger. It is concluded that Cordyline terminalis and Polyscias scutellaria were the best combination of silage juice due to their ability to inhibit pathogenic bacteria.