Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Chinese sumac (Rhus typhina L.) fruit extract

Sumac plant (Rhus typhina) is mainly used for forestation and gardening, whereas its fruit can be used to prepare a kind of beverage called “sumac-ade” and to treat gastrointestinal disorders. This study aimed at assaying the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of R. typhina growing in China. The antimicrobial activity of R. typhina fruit extract was tested against twelve strains including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as yeasts. The extract showed a strong antimicrobial activity with a concentration-dependence and a broad antimicrobial spectrum for all tested bacteria species. Bacillus cereus and Helicobacter pylori were found to be the most sensitive Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria respectively, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.10%. However, yeasts exhibited much lower sensitivity, with MICs of 0.60–0.75%. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the extract was investigated, including scavenging activity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals (0.016 mg/ml as IC50 value) and reducing power (IC50 value of 0.041 mg/ml). To our knowledge, this is the first report on the biological activities of R. typhina fruit extract and our findings suggest the possibility of using the fruit of R. typhina as a novel source of natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents for the food and pharmaceutical industries.