Evaluation of stability and antibacterial properties of extracted chlorophyll from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

This study aims to the evaluation of stability and antibacterial properties of the extracted chlorophyll from alfalfa. For this purpose, chlorophylls a and b from alfalfa were extracted by enzymatic and ultrasound methods. The results show that the content of chlorophyll a in alfalfa is higher than chlorophyll b and also the enzymatic method demonstrates higher yield in chlorophyll extraction. In the present study, the chlorophyll stability was evaluated in different conditions including temperature (-18, 4 and 25 C), time (15, 30 and 45 days), pH (4.5 and 5.5) and NaCl concentration (50, 100 and 150 mM). Also, antibacterial effects were investigated at different concentrations of chlorophyll (20, 40, 60 and 100 mu M) against some bactriaes by agar disk diffusion and microdilution (MIC and MBC) methods. The results demonstrate that 50 mM of NaCl, temperature-18 C, pH = 4.5 and time 15 days are associated with the highest chlorophyll a and b contents. Furthermore, the resistance of bacterias in agar disk diffusion and microdilution methods observe Listeria < Staphylococcus < Salmonella < Escherichia < Pseudomonas and Listeria <(Staphylococcus = Escherichia = Salmonella)

Automated summary

This study evaluated the stability and antibacterial properties of chlorophyll extracted from alfalfa. The results showed that the enzymatic extraction method had higher yield of chlorophyll, and the highest chlorophyll content was observed at temperature -18°C, pH 4.5, and 15 days of extraction time. The antibacterial experiments demonstrated that chlorophyll exhibited inhibitory effects against various bacteria.