Unveiling the bioactive potential of Syzygium aromaticum bud ethanolic extract for food preservation: GC-MS, antioxidant, antibacterial, and FESEM analysis

Abstract

Syzygium aromaticum (clove), a widely used culinary and medicinal spice, exhibits rich phytochemical diversity with notable preservative and therapeutic potential. In this study, GC-MS profiling of solvent fractions (n-Hexane, Chloroform, Ethyl acetate, and Ethanol) of S. aromaticum flower bud ethanolic extract revealed diverse bioactives, including phenolics (eugenol, p-coumaric acid), terpenoids (ß-caryophyllene, humulene), steroids (ß-sitosterol, stigmasterol), and oxygenated heterocycles (5-hydroxymethylfurfural, 2(5H) - furanone), underscoring solvent-dependent metabolite variation. Notably, the S. aromaticum flower bud ethanolic extract remains comparatively underexplored; thus, this study specifically focuses on elucidating the bioactive potential of S. aromaticum flower bud ethanolic extract for preservation applications. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry tentatively identified two previously scarcely reported compounds in this studied extract, namely 2-myristynol pantetheine and desulphosinigrin. S. aromaticum flower bud ethanolic extract demonstrated antioxidant activity IC₅₀ values of 10.42 ± 0.07 µg/mL and 7.62 ± 0.12 µg/mL for DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively, with a FRAP value of 10.16 ± 0.15 mmol Fe²⁺ eq/g suggesting its preservative potential. Potent antibacterial effects have been observed against the spore-forming Bacillus cereus (ATCC 10876) with a zone of inhibition of 28.33 ± 0.58 mm, with a maximum zone of inhibition of 50.33 ± 0.58 mm against Candida albicans (ATCC 10231) at 300 mg/mL. S. aromaticum flower bud ethanolic extract has shown biocidal activity against Salmonella typhimurium (Minimum inhibitory Concentration and Minimum bactericidal concentration of 1.56 and 3.12 mg/mL, respectively). Morphological analysis via Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans treated at Minimum inhibitory Concentration (6.25 mg/mL) has shown progressive ultrastructural damage after 24hour exposure. Collectively, these tentative phytochemical profiling, in vitro antioxidant, antibacterial and morphological structural findings indicates that SAE retains noteworthy antioxidant and antimicrobial bioactivity, supporting its potential as natural bioactive component for future development in food preservation applications, pending validation in real food systems and inclusive safety and toxicity assessment.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Applied Food Research, 2026 · DOI ↗