Abstract
Antidesma thwaitesianum Müll. Arg. or Mao is well-known in Thailand for its use in soft drinks and wine. This study investigated the potential of its fruit juice as a food preservative based on its antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens and spoilage. The fruit juice had antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus TISTR1527, Staphylococcus aureus TISTR2329, Listeria monocytogenes DMST17303, Pseudomonas aeruginosa TISTR357, Salmonella Typhimurium DMST562, and Escherichia coli TISTR074. The minimum inhibitory concentration ranged from 25 to 100 mg/ml. Of significance was that the juice had excellent antifungal activities against Aspergillus flavus TISTR3135 and Penicillium digitatum ATCC10030. Furthermore, the fruit juice increased the lag time of spore germination of P. digitatum. Analysis of the phytochemical contents of the juice showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 20.07 mg GAE/g and 3.57 mg QE/g, respectively. In antioxidant activity assay, the juice exhibited moderate DPPH and ABTS+ radical scavenging and ferric-reducing activities. The addition of 5% fruit juice extended the microbial shelf life of chiffon cake. The treated chiffon cake had a shelf-life of 7 days, compared to 3 days for the untreated control. These results support the possible use of Mao fruit juice as an antimicrobial agent and a natural food preservative.
Highlights
IntroductionArg., known as “Mao” in Thai, is in the family Phyllanthaceae which is most diverse in South-East Asia
Pseudomonas aeruginosa TISTR357, Escherichia coli TISTR074, Salmonella Typhimurium DMST562, Listeria monocytogenes DMST17303, Staphylococcus aureus TISTR2329, Bacillus cereus TISTR1527, and Aspergillus flavus TISTR3135 were obtained from Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) cultures, and Department of Medical Sciences Thailand (DMST culture collection)
The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 20.07 mg GAE/g and 3.57 milligrams of quercetin equivalents per gram (mg QE/g), respectively. These results were in line with another report where the total phenolic content of Mao fruit juice was 22.67 mg GAE/g [3]
Summary
Arg., known as “Mao” in Thai, is in the family Phyllanthaceae which is most diverse in South-East Asia. It is a tropical fruit commonly found in Northeast Thailand [1]. Mao fruits have been reported to contain phytochemicals that have great antioxidant potential [6] and provide various biological activities [2, 7]. Anthocyanin, flavonoids, and phenolic acid were present in the methanolic fruit extracts [8]. While the fruit juice contains high amounts of several bioactive components such as phenolics, ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, and flavonoids [10,11,12].
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