In vitro Bioactivities and Shelf Life Protective Properties of Sumac Extracts Against Foodborne Pathogens and Computational Analysis of Sumac Compounds

The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial, antibiofilm, antioxidant and shelf life protective potentials of infusion, decoction, and room temperature samples of sumac fruits prepared as used by the local people against three foodborne pathogens including Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Staphylococcus aureus isolated from food samples. The room temperature samples of sumac showed a remarkable antibacterial activity (81.25%) against S. aureus. Infusion and decoction samples of sumac fruit showed an effective antibacterial activity (∼70%) against E. coli O157:H7. Moderate efficacy against B. cereus was observed in all treatment groups. Antibiofilm effects of sumac were observed against B. cereus and S. aureus, but not against E. coli O157:H7. The total antioxidant activity was found to be close to the reference compounds. The twenty-two phenolic and flavonoid chemical compounds (gallic acid, gentisic acid, protocatechuic acid, protocatechualdehyde, 4-OH-benzoic acid, salicylic acid, chlorogenic acid, cafeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rosmarinic acid, sinapic acid, trans-cinnamic acid, rutin, resveratrol, myricetin, naringenin, quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, apigenin, and chrysin) were identified by Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (LC-MS/MS) and these molecules were analyzed by computational analyses using SwissADME, admetSAR 3.0 and the AntiBac-Pred web tool. In addition, the antibacterial efficacy of sumac fruit extracts was tested on mixed Mediterranean salad samples to evaluate the shelf-life enhancing effect. The efficacy of sumac fruit against common foodborne pathogens suggests that the ethnobotanical use of sumac may provide protection against bacterial diseases and can be utilized as an additive and/or ingredient in the food industry.