Antibacterial Activity of Phenolic Acid Extracted from Pangium edule towards Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Klebsiella pneumoniae as Foodborne Pathogen

Abstract

Indonesia is a country with high biodiversity and many plants' potential for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research. Pangium edule is one of the local Indonesian spices usually used for a specific cuisine. Currently, there are few studies of P. edule as a food preservative agent and none on its medicinal use. P. edule seeds contain antioxidants, alkaloids, and polyphenolic compounds, which are known to have antimicrobial activities. Foodborne pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Klebsiella pneumoniae are commonly found in street food in Indonesia. Foodborne pathogens such as S. aureus, E. coli, S. typhimurium, and K. pneumoniae showed antibiotic resistance. This research is another approach to utilizing P. edule potential for medicinal purposes, especially against foodborne pathogens, by focusing on investigating the antibacterial activity exerted specifically from a phenolic acid extracted from P. edule seeds to target foodborne pathogens such as S. aureus, E. coli, S. typhimurium, and K. pneumoniae. The phenolic acid was extracted from the P. edule seeds, and Kirby Bauer was used as the method to determine the antimicrobial activity exerted by the free phenolic acid and glycoside bound phenolic acid. In conclusion, phenolic acid extracted from Pangium edule seeds can exert antibacterial activity toward Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhimurium as the foodborne pathogen. Therefore, phenolic acid from P. edule seeds can be investigated more to be used as a food preservative or pharmaceutical ingredient.