title: Antioxidant, Antimicrobial Activity and Total Phenolic Content within the Aerial Parts of Artemisia absinthum, Artemisia santonicum and Saponaria officinalis.
abstract: Three native Turkish medicinal and aromatic plants (Artemisia absinthum, Artemisia santonicum and Saponaria officinalis) were investigated to analyze their antioxidant activity, total phenolic content and antimicrobial activity. Their total antioxidant activity was determined by using a β-carotene bleaching assay and their antimicrobial activity was determined by utilizing an agar disc diffusion assay. Methanol extracts of the three species analyzed showed high antioxidant activity and among them Artemisia absinthum possessed the highest quantity (71.78%). The total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu assay) was shown to be between 6.57 μgGAE/mg dry weight basis (Saponaria officinalis) and 8.86 μgGAE/mg dry weight basis (Artemisia absinthum). There was a positive correlation (R = 0.819) between the total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity measured in the plant samples. The aqueous and methanol extracts of the aerial parts of the species showed antibacterial activities against a number of microorganisms. The methanol extracts were found to inhibit the growth of microorganisms more than the aqueous extracts. These findings suggest that the methanol extracts of the plants tested contain compounds with antimicrobial properties. These exhibited properties propose that such plant extracts can possibly be used as natural preservatives in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, 2524 Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Memnune
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sengul
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sezai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ercisli
authors.affiliation: Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hilal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yildiz
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Health School, Erzincan University, 24100 Erzincan, Turkey.
authors.forename: Neva
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gungor
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, 2524 Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kavaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Ataturk University, 2524 Erzurum, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cetin
keywords: Antibacterial activity; Antioxidants; Artemisia; Saponaria