Antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity properties of selected wild edible fruits of traditional medicinal plants

Abstract

The fruit pulp extracts of 12 wild edible fruits were investigated for their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic properties. Methanol extracts of the pulps were tested against five micro-organisms (Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cer-eus, Klebsiella pneumonia,and Prevotella intermedia). The fruit pulp extracts of the wild edible plants exhibited different degrees of antimicrobial activity, with Adansonia digitata exhibiting con-siderable antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhi. The fruit pulp extracts of A. digitata were also the highest in antioxidant activity. None of the fruit pulp extracts was toxic to humans. The results show the potential use of these fruit pulps for the devel-opment of functional foods with medicinal benefits.