Antimicrobial Activity, Antioxidant Properties and Phytochemical Screening of Aesculus Hippocastanum Mother Tincture against Food-Borne Bacteria

The beneficial health effects of extracts from many types of plants have been known for centuries and the search for new natural extracts to use in food and cosmetics industry is very important at present. ln this study, the antioxidant and the antimicrobial activities of Aesculus hippocastanum mother tincture (TM) against a range of foodborne bacteria were investigated to determine the major components and the action spectrum and the antimicrobial efflcacy of the extract. Results demonstrated an high antioxidant ability; total polyphenolic content was 506.8t15.2m9 GAE/100m1 and the highest content was found for flavonoids. Moreover, TM demonstrated the antimicrobial activity against all tested bacteria and all Gram-negative bacteria were sensitive with an high antimicrobial activity. The inhibitory activity showed a moderate efficacy on growth of 72.7% of strains in presence of different extract MlC. The observed antioxidant and biological activities might be due to synergistic actions of bioactive compounds detected in the TM. The results of this study could be applied in pharmaceutical field, establishing an important role of mother tinctures in phytotherapy, in order to adopt integrated strategies to effectively counter the excess and the effects of free radicals, and also in food preservation, alternative medicine and natural therapies.