Evaluation of Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Ethnic Culinary Herbs and Spices

The antioxidant, total phenolic content, total flavonoid, total flavonol content and antibacterial activities of selected herbs and spices were examined. The spices extracts were prepared by cold solvent extraction method using two different extractants i.e. methanol and ethanol. The antioxidant activity was determined by using DPPH scavenging ability. The content of phenols was evaluated by using Folin Ciocalteu Micro method and flavonoid and flavonol contents were analysed by UV-Spectrophotometry. These herbal decoctions were also tested against five food-borne isolates by agar well diffusion, drop agar diffusion and macrobroth dilution and simultaneous determination of their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Significantly higher concentration of bioactive compounds was present in ethanolic extracts of tested herbs and these compounds also displayed higher antibacterial potential against all the tested microorganisms. Results presented here suggested that these extracts can therefore be employed as a natural additive in cosmetic, food and therapeutic industries.