Evaluation of the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Ziziphus lotus seeds

Researchers at the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Morocco evaluated the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the organic and aqueous extracts of Ziziphus lotus (jujube) seeds. They reported their findings in a study published in The Journal of Phytopharmacology.

• According to previous studies, natural plant extracts contain a variety of phenolic compounds with beneficial activities.
• To determine the biological properties of Z. lotus, the researchers prepared extracts from its seeds using ethanol, methanol and water as solvents.
• They then determined the total polyphenol content of the extracts using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent.
• The researchers reported that the ethanol extract had the highest polyphenol content, followed by the methanol extract then the aqueous extract.
• The methanol extract, however, was richer in tannins than the ethanol or aqueous extracts.
• In vitro evaluation of the extracts’ antioxidant activity revealed that all three are capable of scavenging DPPH effectively. These results were subsequently verified using the phosphomolybdate test.
• Using broth microdilution, the researchers assessed the antimicrobial activities of the Z. lotus extracts and found that all of them were effective against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis.
• Only the fungus Candida tropicalis showed resistance to the Z. lotus extracts.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that the extract derived from Z. lotus seeds is a natural antibiotic that can be used for the treatment of common bacterial infections.

Read the full study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Chaimae R, Meryem B, Chaimae S, Bouchamma E-O, Hamza E, Laila E, Lahsen EG, Meryem B. ANTIMICROBIAL AND RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITIES OF MOROCCAN ZIZIPHUS LOTUS L. SEEDS. The Journal of Phytopharmacology. 2019;8(4):155-160.