Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Spices Traditionally Used in Fermented Meat Products

Garlic (Allium sativum), pepper (Piper nigrum) and bird chili (Capsicum frutescens) are spices generally added into fermented meat products to enhance their tastes and flavors. Different solvent extractions of these spices were investigated for their antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Among all spice extracts, 50% (v/v) ethanolic extract of pepper exhibited the highest antioxidant activities against DPPH. and ABTS(.+) with the IC50 of 0.03 and 0.51mg dried extract/mL, respectively. The water extract of pepper gave greater ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) as compared to its ethanolic extract. The water extract of garlic showed the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against foodborne pathogens and lactic acid bacteria commonly found in the fermented meat products in the ranges of 8.8-141.4 and 8.8-282.2mg dried extract/mL, respectively. Therefore, these spices could play crucial roles as the antioxidant and natural preservatives in the fermented meat products.