Antibacterial Activity of Indian Gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica L.) Fruit Extracts and the Application to Reduce Number of Bacteria on Pork

Abstract

Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica L.) is a medicinal plant that has been widely used and scientifically shown to have antibacterial activity. This research aimed to examine the antibacterial activity of Indian gooseberry fruit extracts with different solvents in vitro and the application of its ethanolic extract to reduce the number of bacteria on pork. In this study, Indian gooseberry fruit was extracted with different solvents including acetone, methanol, ethanol and water. The antibacterial activity of the extracts was examined by agar disc diffusion. The extract to be applied to pork (the ethanolic extract) was selected to determine its minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) against 5 species of gram positive bacteria and 7 species of gram negative bacteria by broth microdilution. The results revealed that Indian gooseberry fruit extracts with different solvents had antibacterial activity against gram positive bacteria. The ethanolic extract had MICs and MBCs against tested bacteria in the ranges of 2.5-10 mg/mL and 10-40 mg/mL, respectively. The application of ethanolic extract to pork showed that the extract at concentrations of 8MIC (80 mg/mL) and 16MIC (160 mg/mL) significantly reduced the number of bacterial cells on pork. This research indicated that Indian gooseberry fruit extracts had bactericidal activity and had the potential to be developed as an active ingredient to control bacterial growth.