Title: Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of some Chinese plant extracts
Abstract: Sir, Plant extracts have been known since antiquity to possess notable biological activity, including antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal properties. There is a growing interest in the use of natural products in the human food and animal feed industries as consumer resistance to synthetic additives increases [1,2]. Examples of synthetic additives include antioxidant chemicals, such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), in addition to chemical antimicrobials such as formic and propionic acid. Concern over the safety of use of these additives in the food chain has led to their restricted use in several countries [2–4]. In addition, antimicrobials of plant origin are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry for the control of microbial pathogens. Although the introduction of antibiotics dramatically improved the treatment of bacterial infections, the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria has led to the continuing search for useful natural antimicrobials. Natural antioxidants for the prevention of lipid peroxidative damage, which has been implicated in several disorders such as atherosclerosis, carcinogensis and in the ageing process are also becoming important [5–7]. Chinese herbs and spices have been used as dietary supplements for centuries but their modes of action are not well understood. It is thought that the major mode of action may be through an antioxidant or antimicrobial mechanism. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of 12 plant extracts obtained from Shangquin Neoland Biotechnology Ltd., Henan, China, namely: goldthread rhizome (rhizoma Captidix trifolia), skullcap root (radix Scutellaria lateriflora), milkvetch root (radix Astragali ), big head root (Bighead atractylodes rhizome), licorice root (from Ning Xia) (radix Glyerrhizae uralensis), licorice root (from Inner Mongolia) (radix Glyerrhizae uralensis), Chinese white peony root (radix Paeonniae alba), tangerine peel (pericardium Citri reticulatae), pine needle (Pinus tabulaeformis carr), medicated leaven (Massa fermentata medicinalis), hawthorn fruit (wild) (Crataegus cuneata) and hawthorn fruit (cultivated) (Crataegus cuneata) and a commercial combination obtained from David Moore Flavours, Ryhall Road, Stamford, UK. This was formulated to contain equal amounts of the following; milkvetch root (radix Astragali ), licorice root (radix Glyerrhizae uralensis), Chinese white peony root (radix Paeonniae alba), tangerine peel (pericardium Citri reticulatae), medicated leaven (Massa fermentata medicinalis), bamboo shoot (Phyliosach s nigra), trichosanthes fruit (Trichosanthes lirilowii maxim) and radish seed (Raphanus sati us). All samples were ground in a mechanical blender prior to extraction. Each sample was subjected to three extraction procedures; water, ethanol or ethanol:water extraction. In all cases, 1 g samples were used for extraction. For water extraction, each sample (1:8 w/v) was boiled for 10 min, centrifuged at 1000×g and the supernatant stored at 4°C essentially as described by Lin and colleagues [8]. Alcohol extracts were prepared by soaking in absolute ethanol (1:8 w/v) for 30 min at ambient temperature with constant agitation, the sample was then centrifuged and stored as above. Ethanol:water (60:40) extracts were prepared by soaking the samples (1:8 w/v) in this solvent at 70°C for 30 min with agitation as described previously [9]. The sample was centrifuged and stored as described above. For minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determinations the ethanol:water extracts of the samples were prepared as above, the supernatant was evaporated to * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (C. Duffy).
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-06-01
Language: en
Type: letter
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 195
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot