Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) Accessions
Under the principles of the circular economy and sustainability, consumers, the food industry and health authorities have interest in new natural food preservatives to prevent foodborne diseases and increase produce shelf life. This work aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of cowpea plant...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Molecules |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/11/2348 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849331152194633728 |
|---|---|
| author | Acácio Salamandane Mariana Candeias Susana Lourenço Emília Joana F. Vieira Elsa Mecha Ricardo Gomes Rosário Bronze Cátia Nunes Luisa Brito |
| author_facet | Acácio Salamandane Mariana Candeias Susana Lourenço Emília Joana F. Vieira Elsa Mecha Ricardo Gomes Rosário Bronze Cátia Nunes Luisa Brito |
| author_sort | Acácio Salamandane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Under the principles of the circular economy and sustainability, consumers, the food industry and health authorities have interest in new natural food preservatives to prevent foodborne diseases and increase produce shelf life. This work aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of cowpea plant extracts. Grain, pod and leaf extracts from five Portuguese cowpea accessions were characterized in terms of their phenolic content. The values of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined against pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, as well as on post-harvest pathogenic filamentous fungi. In general, the phenolic content of pod extracts was higher than that of grains and leaves, although leaf extracts had the highest content of a broad-spectrum antibacterial flavonoid, quercetin. Grain extracts exhibited no detectable antimicrobial activity. In contrast, leaf and pod extracts from all five accessions generally displayed bactericidal effects. For bacteria, pod extracts showed MICs ranging from 5.1 to 87.7 mg/mL and MBCs from 20.3 to 87.7 mg/mL. Leaf extracts showed the most promising results, with MICs and MBCs ranging from 1.1 to 9.1 mg/mL. The results against fungi were not so expressive; nevertheless, <i>P. expansum</i> was inhibited by 9 L leaf extract even if at a higher concentration (MIC = 18 mg/mL) than those obtained for bacteria. The Portuguese variety Fradel (1E) showed very promising antibacterial activity, with leaf extracts showing low MBC values (from 2.3 to 9.1 mg/mL). The obtained results indicate that cowpea pods and leaves have antimicrobial properties and could potentially be used as a source of compounds for food preservation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-79e31ebc53a6406fb7f55bfaba2f076c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj-art-79e31ebc53a6406fb7f55bfaba2f076c2025-08-20T03:46:42ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492025-05-013011234810.3390/molecules30112348Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) AccessionsAcácio Salamandane0Mariana Candeias1Susana Lourenço2Emília Joana F. Vieira3Elsa Mecha4Ricardo Gomes5Rosário Bronze6Cátia Nunes7Luisa Brito8LEAF—Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, PortugalLEAF—Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, PortugalLEAF—Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, PortugalLEAF—Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, PortugaliBET—Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Av. da República, Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, PortugaliBET—Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Av. da República, Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, PortugaliBET—Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica, Av. da República, Apartado 12, 2781-901 Oeiras, PortugalUnidade Estratégica de Investigação e Serviços de Biotecnologia e Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Instituto Público, Avenida da República, Quinta do Marquês, 2780-157 Oeiras, PortugalLEAF—Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, PortugalUnder the principles of the circular economy and sustainability, consumers, the food industry and health authorities have interest in new natural food preservatives to prevent foodborne diseases and increase produce shelf life. This work aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of cowpea plant extracts. Grain, pod and leaf extracts from five Portuguese cowpea accessions were characterized in terms of their phenolic content. The values of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined against pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, as well as on post-harvest pathogenic filamentous fungi. In general, the phenolic content of pod extracts was higher than that of grains and leaves, although leaf extracts had the highest content of a broad-spectrum antibacterial flavonoid, quercetin. Grain extracts exhibited no detectable antimicrobial activity. In contrast, leaf and pod extracts from all five accessions generally displayed bactericidal effects. For bacteria, pod extracts showed MICs ranging from 5.1 to 87.7 mg/mL and MBCs from 20.3 to 87.7 mg/mL. Leaf extracts showed the most promising results, with MICs and MBCs ranging from 1.1 to 9.1 mg/mL. The results against fungi were not so expressive; nevertheless, <i>P. expansum</i> was inhibited by 9 L leaf extract even if at a higher concentration (MIC = 18 mg/mL) than those obtained for bacteria. The Portuguese variety Fradel (1E) showed very promising antibacterial activity, with leaf extracts showing low MBC values (from 2.3 to 9.1 mg/mL). The obtained results indicate that cowpea pods and leaves have antimicrobial properties and could potentially be used as a source of compounds for food preservation.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/11/2348cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) leaf extractsquercetinfoodborne pathogenic bacteria<i>Penicillium expansum</i>minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) |
| spellingShingle | Acácio Salamandane Mariana Candeias Susana Lourenço Emília Joana F. Vieira Elsa Mecha Ricardo Gomes Rosário Bronze Cátia Nunes Luisa Brito Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) Accessions Molecules cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) leaf extracts quercetin foodborne pathogenic bacteria <i>Penicillium expansum</i> minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) |
| title | Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) Accessions |
| title_full | Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) Accessions |
| title_fullStr | Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) Accessions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) Accessions |
| title_short | Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Five Portuguese Cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) Accessions |
| title_sort | antibacterial and antifungal activity of extracts from five portuguese cowpea i vigna unguiculata i accessions |
| topic | cowpea (<i>Vigna unguiculata</i>) leaf extracts quercetin foodborne pathogenic bacteria <i>Penicillium expansum</i> minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/11/2348 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT acaciosalamandane antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT marianacandeias antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT susanalourenco antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT emiliajoanafvieira antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT elsamecha antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT ricardogomes antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT rosariobronze antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT catianunes antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions AT luisabrito antibacterialandantifungalactivityofextractsfromfiveportuguesecowpeaivignaunguiculataiaccessions |