In Vivo and in Vitro Mitigation of Salmonella Typhimurium Isolates by Fortunella Japonica Fruit Extract.

ABSTRACT

The vast dissemination of resistance to different antibiotics among bacterial pathogens, especially foodborne pathogens, has drawn major research attention. Thus, many attempts have been made to reveal novel alternatives to the current antibiotics. Due to their variable pharmacologically active phytochemicals, plants represent a good solution for this issue. This study investigated the antibacterial potential of Kumquat or Fortunella japonica methanol extract (FJME) against Salmonella typhimurium clinical isolates. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) characterized 39 compounds in FJME. Palmitic acid (15.386%) and cis-vaccenic acid (15.012%) are the major active constituents detected by GC/MS. Remarkably, FJME had minimum inhibitory concentrations from 128 to 512 µg/mL in vitro. In addition, a systemic infection model revealed the in vivo antibacterial action of FJME. The antibacterial therapeutic activity of FJME was noticed by improving the histological features of the liver and spleen. Moreover, there was a perceptible lessening (p < 0.05) of the levels of the oxidative stress markers (nitric oxide and malondialdehyde) using ELISA. In addition, the gene expression of the proinflammatory cytokine (interleukin 6) was downregulated. On the other hand, there was an upregulation of the anti-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin 10). Accordingly, future clinical investigations should be done to reveal the potential antibacterial action of FJME on other food pathogens.