Antibacterial and Antifungal Activity of the Aqueous and Methanolic Extracts and Essential Oils of Red Beets Beta vulgaris Leaves

The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial properties of aqueous and methanolic extracts, as well as essential oils of red beet leaves. The leaves were purchased from local farms in Isfahan province, Iran. After drying the leaves, their extracts were obtained by water and methanol as solvent, and also essential oils of the leaves were extracted through the hydro-distillation method. Antibacterial activity of the extracts and essential oils was determined against five foodborne bacteria by disc-diffusion assay and minimum inhibitory concentration method. Moreover, the antifungal activity of the samples was examined by the contact phase method against five fungi species. The aqueous extract of red beet leaves did not show any antimicrobial activity against the studied species, whereas the methanolic extract inhibited the growth of four strains of the bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enteritidis. Essential oil had an inhibitory effect against B. cereus, S. enteritidis, and S. aureus. Furthermore, the aqueous and methanolic extracts and essential oils had a variable degree of antifungal activity against all tested fungi. However, the methanolic extract and essential oils had a stronger antifungal effect than the aqueous extract.