Antilisterial Activities of Polyphenol-Rich Extracts of Grapes and Vinification Byproducts

The quantitation of the main polyphenols and the assessment of the total polyphenolic content (TPC) in polyphenol-rich extracts of grape berries and vinification byproducts, obtained from Vitis vinifera cultivars of the Greek islands, are presented. The results indicated that seed extracts contain high concentrations of flavan-3-ols and their derivatives, whereas pomace and stem extracts consist of significant amounts of flavonoids, stilbenes, and phenolic acids. In particular, stems-a scarcely studied class of grape byproduct-were also characterized by high trans-resveratrol and E-viniferin content. The evaluation of their in vitro antilisterial activities revealed as most potent the seed and stem extracts of the red variety Mandilaria. Their minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were assessed using a Malthus apparatus by two methods, a plate count technique and an automated technique that combines the conductance measurements with the common dilution method. The results revealed the usefulness of the conductance method as an alternative rapid means for the MIC estimation, whereas the respective values (0.26 and 0.34 for seeds and stems) indicated that both extracts represent an inexpensive source of potent natural antilisterial mixtures, which may be incorporated in food systems to prevent the growth of Listeria monocytogenes.