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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The concentration of polyphenols and antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of
oils obtained from seeds of Camellia japonica, Camellia sasanqua and Camellia grijsii, grown in
Pontevedra (NW Spain), were studied. Oils were obtained by cold-pressed extraction. Standard
methods for moisture, density and acid and iodine values were used to analyse the stability
of the fresh oils. Strains of Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus epidermidis
and Cryptococcus neoformans, all infectious pathogens in humans, were used to assess the
antimicrobial properties of the oils.
The concentration of polyphenols ranged from 0.02± 0.006 to 0.04 ± 0.001 mg of gallic acid per g
in oils from C. japonica and C. grijsii, respectively. Concerning the antioxidant activity, determined
using the DPPH• scavenging activity and the β-carotene bleaching assay. The highest value was
found in C. grijsii and the lowest in C. japonica.
All the oils showed antimicrobial activity, and exhibited different selectivity and Minimum
Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) for each microorganism under study. The most sensitive was K.
pneumonia, followed by Salmonella sp., S. epidermidis and C. neoformans, the highest MIC value
being found for C. neoformans. For all the microorganisms, the higher antimicrobial activity was
obtained from the oil of C. grijsii, followed by C. sasanqua and C. japonica.
Since the highest biological properties were found in the oil containing the highest concentration
of polyphenols, it can be hypothesised that these bioactive compounds might play a role in those
properties.
Description
Keywords
Antimicrobial activity Antioxidantwe activity Phenolic compounds
Citation
Publisher
Universidad de Salamanca