To develop natural antimicrobial agent, this study was designed to investigate antimicrobial activity of 13 species of edible herbal plant extracts against major foodborne pathogenic bacteria. Among 13 screened edible herbal plants, Caesalpinia sappan...
To develop natural antimicrobial agent, this study was designed to investigate antimicrobial activity of 13 species of edible herbal plant extracts against major foodborne pathogenic bacteria. Among 13 screened edible herbal plants, Caesalpinia sappan L. showed the highest antimicrobial activity. In paper disc agar diffusion assay, Caesalpinia sappan L. extracts had strong antibacterial activities against most of Gram(+) bacteria but did not show antibacterial activities against most of Gram(-) bacteria. In broth micro-dilution assay, most of Gram(+) bacteria were inhibited by 100%. But most of Gram(-) bacteria were inhibited at the range between 10% and 50%. MICs of the ethanol extract were 60 μg/mL for Clostridium difficile and Listeria monocytogenes and 30 μg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus. The inhibitory activities of the extract for C. difficile, L. monocytogenes, and S. aureus were not reduced by heat treatment or pH adjustment The antimicrobial activities were higher in the ethanol extract than in the distilled water extract. Total polyphenol and flavonoids contents of ethanol extract were higher than that of distilled water extract. DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging activities of ethanol extract were higher than that of distilled water extract. These results support the potential use of Caesalpinia sappan L. ethanol extract as a novel antimicrobial agent against major Gram(+) pathogenic bacteria in food industry.