Extraction of plum phenolic Compounds Using Different solvents - The Antimicrobial Effect of the Extracts on the growth of E.coli and S. aureus

There are some evidences indicating that free radicals cause oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. Some fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, that might inhibit or delay the oxidation of substrate and would therefore seem to be very important in the prevention of some disease. In order to determine phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of plum extract, four different varieties of Iranian plum (Bokhara, Torghabe, Shams and Khorasani) were selected and extraction was carried out by using four different solvents namely water, methanol, ethanol and acetone. Additionally antimicrobial activity of plum extract against Staphylococcuse aureus and Escherichia coli in 35°C was studied. Methanol was the best choice between the selected solvents to extract the phenolic compounds of plum. Bokhara plum was the richest and had the highest amount of phenolic compounds. Regarding the antimicrobial activity, the extract can reduce E. coli and S. aureus growth and the higher the concentration of the extract, the less the growth of bacteria. The results showed that, significant correlation existed between antimicrobial effects and concentration of extract. There is a significant correlation between the total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. In future plum extract might be used as a source of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial in food processing.