Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Preservative-free meals and the use of natural products as natural alternatives are
becoming more popular as consumers become more aware of the potential health
problems associated with artificial food preservatives. The current study focused on
exploring the potential of plant extracts (rosemary and eucalyptus) and propolis, or their
mixtures, to develop a highly bioactive formulation. Extracts were prepared individually
and mixtures of eucalyptus/propolis, eucalyptus/rosemary, and rosemary/propolis using
hydroethanolic extracts (80% ethanol) in different ratios of 50:50, 60:40, and 40:60,
respectively., were also prepared. The selected matrices were prepared by two different
maceration processes: i) 1 g of the sample was macerated in 30 mL of 80% hydroethanolic
solution using magnetic stirring; ii) 1 g of sample in 10 mL of hydroethanolic solution was
macerated in a water bath at 70°C, this being, the recommended protocol for extraction of
phenolic compounds from propolis [1]. The extracts were further analyzed for their
antimicrobial ability by microdilution method using pathogenic microorganisms. The
individual extracts of rosemary and eucalyptus showed remarkably strong antibacterial
activity against most bacterial strains, often equivalent to that obtained with the common
antibiotic’s streptomycin, methicillin, and ampicillin. Both mixtures, eucalyptus/rosemary
(60:40) collected from maceration by magnetic stirring and eucalyptus/propolis (60:40)
derived from maceration with water bath, showed the most promising results, with
inhibition ability against all bacteria. As for the antifungal ability, no inhibition was obtained
at the maximum tested concentration of 10 mg/mL.
In addition to these encouraging results for antimicrobial activity, further bioactivity assays
will be performed to evaluate the properties of the different extracts.
Description
Keywords
Rosemary Eucalyptus Propolis Research Subject Categories::TECHNOLOGY::Chemical engineering::Food technology
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Abir, Tebai; Oliveira, Izamara; Falcão, Soraia; Rejeb, Ines Bem; Barros, Lillian; Heleno, Sandrina A. (2022). Antimicrobial activity of rosemary, eucalyptus and propolis individual and mixed extracts. In XXVI Encontro Galego-Portugues de Química: Book of Abstracts. Santiago de Compostela
Publisher
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela