Abstract
This study evaluated the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of some fresh fruits and vegetables and their rotten forms. Among the fresh and rotten materials examined, there were Citrus paradise, Citrus sinensis, Punica granatum, Cydonia oblonga, Malus domestica, Citrus limon, Pyrus anatolica, Persea americana, Capsicum annuum var., Actinidia deliciosa, Beta vulgaris L. It was already known that fresh fruits, vegetables have potential microbicidal activities. But how the rottens would behave is unknown. Antimicrobial activities of fresh and rotten samples were examined on selected bacterial (Bacillus subtilis, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Citrobacter freundii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and fungal strains (Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae) by diffusion test, which was confirmed by the inhibition zone and advanced numerical tools. While rotten and fresh pomegranate (24.25±0.09 and 12.87±0.11 mm) showed tremendous activity against S. aureus by standards (Ampicillin: 11.76±0.54 and Cephazolin: 6.00±0.00 mm); against C. albicans, rotten avocado (24.12±0.42 mm) showed satisfactory potency compared to Nystatin (17.89±0.54 mm). Antioxidant activity was screened by DPPH free radical scavenging, ferrous ion chelation, total phenolic content, and total flavonoid content determination methods. While rotten beetroot has the richest total phenolic content with 316.21 ± 9.89 mg GAE/g extract; rotten grapefruit showed the highest total flavonoid content with 118.57±2.58 mg QE/g extract. Research on vegetables and fruits; reveals that not only as food but also as decay forms can be recommended for future therapeutic purposes as pharmacologically active antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.