Evaluation of chemical and antimicrobial properties of hydroalcoholic extract of artichoke (Cynara scolymus) on fungi causing rot in strawberry fruit

The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical and antimicrobial properties of hydroalcoholic extract of artichoke (Cynara scolymus) on fungi (Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizopus stolonifer) causing rot and decay in strawberry fruit after harvesting. Artichoke extract was obtained with water/ethanol solvent and the content of total phenol, total flavonoids, antioxidant activity (in terms of DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging) and its antifungal effect based on disk diffusion agar, well diffusion agar, minimum inhibitory concentration, and minimum fungicidal concentration were investigated. The extract contained 47.30 mg GAE/g of total phenol, 35.19 mg QE/g of total flavonoids, and its antioxidant activity was 58.45% and 54.37% in terms of inhibition of DPPH and ABTS free radicals, respectively. The results of disk diffusion agar and well diffusion agar tests showed that Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonifer are the most sensitive and resistant fungal strains to hydroalcoholic extract of artichoke, respectively. In addition, the minimum fungicidal concentration of the extract for Aspergillus niger (the most sensitive strain) was 512 mg/mL. The results of this study show that the hydroalcoholic extract of artichoke can be used as a natural antifungal compound to control the decay of strawberry fruit during storage.