Abstract
Objective: To explore the antibacterial activity of fresh fruit juices against drug-resistant pathogens. Methods: Fresh juices were prepared by squeezing 7 fruits [Citrus sinensis, Citrus aurantifolia (C. aurantifolia), Punica granatum (P. granatum), Malus domestica, Ananas comosus, Fragaria ananasia, and Actinidia deliciosa]. The antibacterial activities were studied by using well-diffusion, minimum inhibitory (MIC), and minimum bactericidal (MBC) assays against 7 clinical pathogens: Gram- positive, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis; Gram-negative, 2 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 2 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Results: The diffusion test revealed that Malus domestica juice had no antibacterial activity against the tested pathogens; Citrus sinensis and Ananas comosus revealed low antibacterial activity; Fragaria ananasia and Actinidia deliciosa revealed moderate antibacterial activity; P. granatum and C. aurantifolia exhibited high antibacterial activity against most of the clinical strains. MIC and MBC tests exhibited that P. granatum and C. aurantifolia had noticeable bactericidal effects with MBC/MIC values ranging between 2 to 4. Conclusions: The crude fresh juices of P. gronatum and C. aurantifolia have potential as natural therapeutic agents against some multi- drug resistant bacteria and they could prevent pathogenic diseases.