Evaluation of Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, and Antimicrobial Activities of Raspberry Fruit Extract: An In Vitro Study

Introduction Rubus idaeus (R. idaeus) is an edible fruit that contains numerous significant bioactive compounds that hold important biological properties and are categorized as nutraceuticals owing to the health benefits it imparts including decreasing the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus, cancer, heart disease, and many other diseases. The objective of the present research was to explore the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory characteristics of the aqueous raspberry extract through in vitro assays. Materials and methods R. idaeus aqueous extract was prepared and examined for its antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) bacteria and Candida albicans (C. albicans) fungi using the agar-well diffusion method, and the antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH (2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate) radical scavenging assay and the hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging assay. The anti-inflammatory activity of the prepared extract was investigated using bovine serum albumin (BSA) and egg albumin denaturation assays. Results R. idaeus fruit extract displayed strong antimicrobial activity at a higher concentration of 100 µL with a 26 mm zone of inhibition against Streptococcus mutans and 24 mm for Candida albicans. The extract showed 87.42% hydrogen peroxide free radical scavenging activity and inhibited 91.12% DPPH free radicals at the highest concentration of 50 µg/mL. The extract showed effective anti-inflammatory activity by preventing the denaturation of bovine serum albumin (80%) and egg albumin proteins (77%) at the highest concentration of 50 μg/mL. The free radical scavenging activity positively correlates with the increased concentration of the prepared extract against DPPH and hydrogen peroxide free radicals, thus showing the raspberry extract's potent antioxidant activity. Similarly, the anti-inflammatory assay result shows that the prepared raspberry aqueous extract has excellent anti-inflammatory activity by preventing the denaturation of bovine serum albumin and egg albumin protein in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion The meticulously prepared raspberry extract exhibited noteworthy antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory characteristics, and owing to its astounding therapeutic benefits it holds a tremendous promise as a natural alternative in the field of oral medicine especially in the management of oral mucosal lesions, oral potentially malignant lesions such as lichen planus and leukoplakia, candidiasis, oral cancer and oral mucositis. Further animal studies and clinical trials are recommended to fully reap the therapeutics potential of raspberry extract.