Antimicrobial Activity of Coriander sativum
Samina Amin Qurban Ali *
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan.
Arif Malik *
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The increasing rate of drug-repellent pathogens and poisonousness of existing antiseptic compounds has strained attention toward activity of antimicrobial products which are natural. Main purpose of this research was to assess antimicrobial activity of seeds and leaves of Coriandrum sativum’s essential oil, antioxidant, antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of Coriandrum sativum’s ethanol extracts and essential oils. Numerous approaches were used in reviewing the antioxidant activity such as, p-anisidine test – malonaldhyde, DPPH and peroxide value. Antimicrobial activity of the extracts towards six microbial strains; two bacterial strains (Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus), one yeast (Candida tropicals) and three fungal strains (Aspergillus flavus, Mucor sp and Emericella nidulans) was assessed by determination of inhibition zone and count of bacteria, yeast and spares of fungus. The antimicrobial mechanisms found in these essential oils have been explained on the basis of their content in natural compounds such as carvacrol, thymol, p-cymene and c-terpinene, among others. Although these two essential oils have received much attention, scientists working in the fields of biomedicine and food science are paying increasing attention to a wider variety of aromatic natural oils in an effort to identify original and natural applications for the inhibition of microbial pathogens. In conclusion, utilization of coriander or their components as food additives will increase the antioxidant and the antimicrobial potential of the food which prevent food deterioration and improve the shelf-life of food beside its nutritional value. The results revealed that the leaves extracts have high levels of phenolics than the seeds extract. Concerning antioxidant activity, significant decreases (p>0.001) were observed in peroxide, P- anisidine and TBA values as compared to control oil. On the other hand, scavenging activity % of the four extracts on DPPH radical were higher than that of butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) especially with high concentration (1000 μg/ ml). Regarding antimicrobial activity, the results showed that the extract of coriander seeds has the highest reduction percent in growth of all the examined microorganisms. The result also revealed that Mucor sp was resistant to the action of parsley extracts while Aspergillus flavus has the highest resistance against coriander extracts.
Keywords: Coriandrum sativum, antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity.