Abstract
This paper evaluates the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant effect of the ethanolic extract of annatto seeds (EEBS). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the EEBS was determinate through micro-dilution method in 7 bacteria and 5 fungi strains, all of which are ATCC. The EEBS shows a wide antimicrobial action spectrum for both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, as well as for fungi with MICs between 0.5 and 2048 μg/ml. The most sensitive bacteria to the EEBS effect were Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Lactobacillus plantarum; while, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Listeria monocytogenes showed greater resistant against it. Yeast and moulds were more sensitive to EEBS than bacteria, with MICs ranging from 512 to 0.5 μg/ml, where Saccharomyces cerevisiae was the most resistant yeast against the extract and Penicillium chrysogenum the most sensitive. On the other hand, nisin (positive control) showed a strong inhibition of growth for Gram positive bacteria and lower capacity against Gram negative had no capacity against fungi. Besides the broad antimicrobial action, EEBS showed an anti-radical capacity at concentrations lower than MIC at the found values. These results demonstrate the antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of the EEBS, that can possibly make this extract a new alternative for natural food conservation. Key words: Bixa orellana, antimicrobial activity, free radicals scavenging capacity, food preservatives.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), foodborne diseases are one of the most common health problems in the contemporary world and an important cause of productivity loss (FAO/WHO, 2006)
EEBS was active against Gram negative bacteria with Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 256 μg/ml for E. coli, 1024 μg/ml for P. aeruginosa and 512 μg/ml for S. sonnei and S. typhimurium (Figure 2)
EEBS presented a wide spectrum of inhibition against Gram positive bacteria (B. cereus, S. aureus, L. plantarum, and L. monocytogenes) and Gram negative bacteria (E. coli, S. sonnei, P. aeruginosa and S. typhimurium)
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), foodborne diseases are one of the most common health problems in the contemporary world and an important cause of productivity loss (FAO/WHO, 2006). The Disease Control and Prevention Centre of the United States estimates that 76 million people become ill each year; more than 300.000 are hospitalized and 5.000 die as a result of foodborne diseases (Satcher, 2000). The incidence of illnesses caused by microorganisms that are principally foodborne such as Salmonella species and Campylobacter species continued to increase considerably in many countries. Some of the methods used to prevent food contamination are heating, reduced water activity, low temperatures, fermentation and the addition of antimicrobial agents (preservatives) (Leistner, 2000). The addition of preservatives has been an effective method to
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