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Antimicrobial Activity of Selected Polyphenols and Capsaicinoids Identified in Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and Their Possible Mode of Interaction

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Abstract

Antimicrobial activity of pepper polyphenols and capsaicinoids (Coumarin, caffeic acid, narangin, kaempferol, rutin, quercetin, capsaicin, and dihydrocapsaicin) against 13 pathogen bacteria and three beneficial strains was studied using the disk diffusion and microdilution methods. In general, phenolic compounds had the most important activity with the highest inhibition zones obtained with caffeic acid (3.5–20.5 mm), quercetin (4.75–3.5 mm), and kaempferol (7–14 mm). In the determination of the minimal inhibitory concentrations, the effects of both quercetin and kaempferol were more important than caffeic acid. The clinical strains Staphylococcus aureus (319, 14, 8, 32, and 550) were more sensitive to quercetin (0.00195–0.0078 mg L−1) whereas kaempferol was more active against the strains S. aureus (ATCC 6538, 26), S. typhimurium ATCC 13311, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 (0.0156–0.125 mg L−1). The interaction between these three polyphenols was studied against S. aureus ATCC 6538 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853. Different modes of interaction were observed (synergism, additive, and indifferent), but no antagonism was obtained. The best combination was quercetin and caffeic acid for S. aureus with fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) of 0.37, and kaempferol with quercetin for P. aeruginosa (FICI = 0.31).

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Acknowledgements

Meriem Mokhtar would like to thank the Erasmus Mundus program of the European Union Action 2 16 (204195-EM-1-2011- 1-ES-ERA MUNDUS-EMA21).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Beneficial Microorganisms, Functional Food and Health (LMBAFS), Faculty of Natural Sciences and Life, University of Abdelhamid Ibn Badis, 27000, Mostaganem, Algeria

    Meriem Mokhtar, Fatma Youcefi & Ali Riazi

  2. Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmacological and Environmental Science, University of Messina, Viale Annunziata, 98168, Messina, Italy

    Giovanna Ginestra, Angela Filocamo & Carlo Bisignano

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  1. Meriem Mokhtar
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  2. Giovanna Ginestra
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Correspondence to Meriem Mokhtar.

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Mokhtar, M., Ginestra, G., Youcefi, F. et al. Antimicrobial Activity of Selected Polyphenols and Capsaicinoids Identified in Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and Their Possible Mode of Interaction. Curr Microbiol 74, 1253–1260 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-017-1310-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-017-1310-2

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