Microparticles of extract of Yucca baccata Torr. and chitosan: characterization, antioxidants, and antimicrobial properties

Antibiotic bacterial resistance contributes to the high prevalence of bacterial infection worldwide. Alternative strategies are plant extracts and chitosan (QS). In this study, Yucca baccata Torr. was collected from Northwest Mexico, and chitosan had 25% acetylation. The immobilization efficiency between the YBE-QS, the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the Y. baccata extract (YBE), and microparticles (MPs) were determined. The saponin concentration was 24.22% (w/w). The MPs of QS and the YBE-QS had an average diameter of 265.59 ± 96.30 and 271.80 ± 91.86 μm, respectively. The immobilization efficiency was 86.7 ± 3.2%. The antioxidant capacity by the ABTS assay of YBE, MPs of QS, and YBE-QS was 244,666.66 ± 12,253.33, 40.0 ± 11.3, and 48.0 ± 1.7 µMol TE mg-1 respectively; by the DPPH assay 173,361.11 ± 15,030.83, 44.4 ± 3.1, and 320 .1 ± 11.7 µMol TE mg-1, respectively; and by the FRAP 774.754 ± 24.509, 0.190 ± 0.008, and 0.955 ± 0.161 µMol TE mg-1. The YBE tended to show the lowest MICs and MBCs against all studied bacteria. On the other hand, YBE-QS showed better antimicrobial properties than QS MPs. Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O157:H7 showed high sensitivity to the MPs. This study will contribute to the bioactive profile of Y. baccata, showing its potential importance to the pharmaceutical and food industries.