Anti-microbial and Anti-oxidant Activity of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Fruit and Watermelon Seed

Year 2017, Volume: 13 Issue: 1, 139 - 147, 30.03.2017

Perihan Akbaş Özlem Gürsoy Kol Abdurrahman Gürbüz Sevda Manap

https://doi.org/10.18466/cbayarfbe.302659

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) flesh and
seeds were dried and pulverized, and their extracts were diffused to sterile
discs for the evaluation of anti-microbial activity. The disc-diffusion
technique was used to assess anti-bacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pasteurella multocida, Yersinia enterocolitica, Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Xanthomonas campestris, Staphylococcus aureus. Anti-fungal activity against the yeasts Candida albicans and Rhodotorula glutinis was also examined.
Standard anti-biotics were also tested as controls.

Watermelon flesh and seed extracts
were found to be effective against gram-positive and
gram-negative bacteria and yeasts. The extracts were also screened for
anti-oxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH)
free-radical-scavenging assay, total reducing ability using the Fe³⁺–Fe²⁺
transformation method and ferrous ion (Fe²⁺)-chelating activity.
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT),
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and α-tocopherol were used as reference
anti-oxidant radical scavenger compounds.

The most potent anti-bacterial activity was
demonstrated by watermelon–ethanol extract (inhibition zone 30 mm) against K. pneumoniae, and the most potent anti-fungal
activity was demonstrated by watermelon–acetone extract (inhibition zone 26 mm)
against R. glutinis. Watermelon–ethanol
and watermelon seed–ethanol extracts both demonstrated marked anti-oxidant
activity.

These results highlight that watermelon fruit
and seed extracts have potential for the development of efficient, safe and
cost-effective natural anti-oxidant compounds for application in the functional
food industries.

Keywords

anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, Citrullus lanatus, watermelon, watermelon seed

References

• Calis I, Hosny M, Khalifa T and Nishibe S, Secoiridoids from Fraxinus angustifolia. Phytochemistry 33: 1453-1456 (1993).