Potential Antibacterial Activity of Bromelain from Pineapple Fruit, Ananas comosus (L.) cv. Smooth Cayenne

Abstract

Bromelain is a general term for the collection of proteolytic enzymes found in the pineapple plant. Different pineapple fruit parts specifically the fruit cores (axis of the fruit flesh), crowns (base of the fruit or receptacle), peels, and proliferating tops (shoots with the mass of leaves removed) were used as sources of bromelain in the study. The extraction of bromelain was through acetone precipitation. Thirty milligrams per milliliter of the bromelain extracts were used in in vitro susceptibility testing through Kirby-Bauer method against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 9372, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Among the bromelain extracts tested, only bromelain extracted from fruit crowns showed inhibition zones on S. aureus and E. coli. The growth of B. subtilis was not inhibited by all the bromelain treatments administered. The zones of inhibition (mm) of bromelain extracted from pineapple fruit crowns however, was not indicative of significant antibacterial activity.