Antibacterial activity of extracts and individual groups of metabolites of Momordica charantia L. vegetative mass against food contaminants

From various types of meat products purchased in Minsk retail chains and stored at room temperature for two days, 8 species of contaminant bacteria were isolated and identified, including, for the first time in Belarus, the Gram- negative bacterium Aureimonas altamirensis. The strain has been included in the Belarusian Collection of Non-Pathogenic Microorganisms at the Institute of Microbiology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus under the number BIM B-2045. It has been demonstrated that extracts from the vegetative mass of Momordica charantia L. varieties ‘Indian Pomegranate’,

‘Krymskaya’, and ‘Azhur’ are capable of inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive bacterial strains (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus equorum, Microbacterium paraoxydans) at extract substance concentrations of at least 4 mg/ml. Using the TLC-bioautography method, it was established that the antibacterial activity of the extracts against the Staphylococcus equorum strain 13 is determined by phenolic compounds, glycosides, and flavone aglycones, with the dominant contribution provided by polar flavone aglycones. Inter-varietal differences in these groups of compounds were also demonstrated in the TLC spectra of the extracts, which can be used to determine the varietal affiliation of the plants.

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