Antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of grape pomace extracts

¹ “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Iaşi, Romania
² “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
³ Romanian Academy, “Petru Poni” Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Iaşi, Romania
⁴ University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania
⁵ “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iaşi, Romania

Abstract

The use of antioxidants and antibacterials in food industry has become increasingly necessary to ensure the high quality of food. Grape pomace is the main by-product of winemaking industry that concentrates bioactive metabolites with more studied antioxidant activity and possible antibacterial activity. The grape pomace contains fragmented skin, broken cells, pulp remains, stalks and seeds with high amount of phenolic compounds due to their poor extraction during the winemaking process. Anthocyanins, catechins, flavonol glycosides, phenolic acids, alcohols and stilbenes have been identified among the compounds present in grape pomace. In this study, antibacterial activity against different pathogens (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Candida albicansATCC 90028, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923) was evaluated and the relation with polyphenols content and antioxidant activity of grape pomace from selected grapes from Iaşi vineyard was studied. The grape pomace samples were obtained after the fermentation process from the 2017 harvest of Sauvignon Blanc, Traminer, Busuioacă de Bohotin, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Fetească Neagră and Fetească Regală grape varieties. The antioxidant properties were evaluated using the DPPH method, FRAP assay and Folin Ciocalteu method. The content of resveratrol was quantified using an HPLC method. Samples with antioxidant activity showed the highest phenolics content. This study reveals that grape pomace is a potential source of natural antioxidant agents. The pomace extracts were tested to establish the effects on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The analysed samples exhibited insignificant antibacterial activity and the method requires optimization. Grape marc represents an important source of resveratrol and other bioactive compounds that could be a valuable source of antioxidants for further utilization in food and pharmaceutical industry.