Elucidation of Bioactive Potential of Two Commonly Grown North Indian Psidium guajava viz., Lalit and Shweta against Pathogenic Foodborne and MDR Bacteria

Abstract

Food-borne diseases (FBD) can cause serious health hazards. Day by day, these pathogens are becoming resistant to various antibiotics. Consequently, severe outbreaks of (multidrug resistance food-borne diseases) MDR-FBD are possible. About this, there is an urgent requirement to explore new antimicrobial compounds. As Psidium guajava L. has been in folkloric use to treat many diseases, in this study, the phytochemical profile of two North- Indian cultivars (c.v) Lalit (Pink) and Shweta (White) was elucidated, and their bioactive potential was evaluated against antibiotic-resistant FBD. Phytochemical profile relating to good antioxidant activity was exhibited by Leaf (methane, hexane, dichloromethane, and aqueous) extracts containing a good amount of flavonoid/phenolics. Putatively, they are responsible for the antibacterial potential of the extracts. As these extracts showed inhibition of growth in all the ten bacterial strains (including Staphylococcus aureus (MDR), Bacillus pumilus, Micrococcus luteus, Enterobacter epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogens, Escherichia coli (MDR), Salmonella abony, Klebsiella pnemoneae, and Shigella dysenteriae) guava leaf extracts can be formulated as a functional food for combating MDR-FBD.