Phytochemical screening, anthocyanins and antimicrobial activities in some berries fruits

Abstract

Berries are tasteful fruits and are widely believed to be a source of health beneficial compounds. The aim of this study is to evaluate the bioactive compounds of the fruits of berries including anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, lycopene and β-carotene as well as Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) of ethanolic extracts of eight different types of berries (black berry, raspberry, red currant berry, crane berry, Egyptian black mulberry, blueberry, long mulberry and strawberry). The results confirmed the presence of a variety of phytochemicals including; tannins, coumarins, steroids, carbohydrates, volatile oils, amino acids, quinones, xanthoproteics and phenols at high concentration in most types of berries studied. Black berry, crane berry and blueberry showed the appearance of all phytochemical constituents tested, while long mulberry showed the lowest concentration of these constituents. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy technique showed the characterization of compounds or functional groups found in the lyophilized powder of berries fruits. Also, antimicrobial activity of methanolic extracts of berries was tested, the results revealed that the ethanolic extract of Egyptian black mulberry had the highest antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus fecalis, P. aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus and the tested fungi; Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger Penicillium sp. and Rhizopus sp.