Abstract
The fruit of mulberry trees (Morus sp.), mulberries, are traditionally utilised as a nutritional food and provide health benefits as well as skin nourishment in Thailand. White mulberries (Morus alba L.) from Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces were evaluated for their antioxidant and antibacterial activities. The antioxidant activities as well as the total phenolic, flavonoid and anthocyanin content of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts were determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazolin-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The aqueous extracts of mulberries exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, which was associated with a higher phenolic and anthocyanin content. In testing the potent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio cholerae, the mulberry extracts proved to be quite efficient, especially following water extraction. Time-kill and antibacterial adhesion assays further indicated that aqueous mulberry extracts could inhibit bacterial growth and prevent adhesions of pathogenic enteric bacteria on intestinal epithelial cells. It thus appears that mulberries can potentially be consumed as a good source of antioxidants, containing antimicrobial properties against some pathogenic bacteria which cause gastrointestinal tract infections.