Abstract

A STUDY ON COMPARISON OF THE ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF OCIMUM BASILICUM L. AND OCIMUM BASILICUM VAR. MINIMUM L.

Guven Gork*, Gulten Okmen and Olcay Ceylan and Duygu Bayrak

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the essential oils and herbal extracts have attracted a great deal of scientific interest due to their potential as a source of natural antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds. Antimicrobial activities of two plants against food pathogens have not been reported to the present day. The aim of this work was to investigate of the antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of different extracts from Ocimum basilicum and Ocimum basilicum var. minimum. The extracts were screened for antimicrobial activity against food pathogens. The different extracts of plants were tested by disc diffusion assay. In addition to, the plant extracts were tested against the stable DPPH (2,2- diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazylhydrate) free-radical. The aqueous and methanol extracts of Ocimum basilicum showed maximum inhibition zone against Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes. Antimicrobial activities of Ocimum basilicum var. minimum extracts were not found against microorganisms. In addition, aqueous extracts of both plants indicated a strong antioxidant activities (trolox equivalent for Ocimum basilicum = 2,11 mM and trolox equivalent for Ocimum basilicum var. minimum = 1,80 mM). According to our results, some of the plant extracts possess compounds with good antibacterial properties that can be used as antibacterial agents in the search for new drugs.

Keywords: Antimicrobial activity; Antioxidant activity; MIC; Ocimum sp.