Abstract

Objective: To investigate the in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities along with phytochemical screening of organic and aqueous extracts of spices used in Mauritian foods. Methods: Antioxidant activity of the crude extracts was evaluated in terms of total antioxidant capacity, total phenol content and total flavonoid content. The antimicrobial activity of the spices was determined by the agar well diffusion method against a gram positive and a gram negative bacteria. The qualitative and quantitative phytochemical screening were carried out by standard biochemical assays. Results: All six spices were found to possess alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, tannins and phenols. Total phenolic content of the extracts varied between 177 and 1 890 mg GAE/g DW while the total flavonoid content varied between 2.8 and 37.6 mg QE/g DW. All six spices were found to possess strong antioxidant properties as well. Highest value was obtained for cinnamon [(24.930依0.198) µmol Fe2+/g DW] whilst turmeric showed the lowest antioxidant activity [(5.980依0.313) µmol Fe2+/g DW] (P<0.05). All extracts showed promising activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The size of the inhibition zones ranged between (11.20依0.23) mm to (26.10依2.09) mm (P<0.05) with turmeric and cinnamon being the most effective against Staphylococcus aureus while garlic was least effective against both E. coli and S. aureus. Conclusions: The present study reveals the presence of potential antioxidant and antimicrobial properties in the extracts of the spices which could be further exploited.

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