Solvent optimization and characterization of fatty acid profle and antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Turkish Pistacia terebinthus L. extracts

Abstract

The present study investigated 12 diferent Pistacia terebinthus L. (terebinth) fruits, harvested or purchased in Turkey, forfatty acid composition, radical scavenging, antimicrobial activity, and total phenolic content. Solvent optimization for the samples wasprepared by using a simplex lattice mixture design prior to the analysis. Te optimum solvent mixture was 39% water and 61% acetone,based on the maximization of extraction yield of phenolic compounds. Total phenolic contents (TPCs) of the extracts varied from12,189 mg GAE/1000 g extract to 36,392 mg GAE/1000 g extract. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activitiesof the extracts varied over a wide range (8.86% 64.43%) and were highly correlated with TPCs. Agar difusion was used to determinethe antibacterial activity of the terebinth extracts against 2 gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) and 2gram-negative (Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica subsp . enterica serovar Typhimurium) bacteria. L. monocytogenes andSalmonella Typhimurium were more susceptible to the extracts than E. coli O157:H7 and S. aureus. Considering the fatty acid compositionof the extracts, palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid were the dominant saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fattyacids, respectively. In conclusion, this study confrmed the terebinth fruits strong bioactive and antimicrobial properties and establishedtheir fatty acid profles, indicating their potential for a variety of applications.