Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Tamarix ramosissima halophyte and its application in the food industry

Tamarix ramosissima is a halophytic species with diuretic, diaphoretic, astringent, analgesic and hemostatic effects. Decoctions and infusions used for various diseases are prepared from it. Infusion of flowers is useful for stomach inflammation, decoction of branches is effective for rheumatism, infusion of leaves and bark is prescribed for diarrhea, bleeding and diseases of the spleen. Tamarix twigs are brewed like tea. In the past, a decoction of the fruits of the plant was used in the Caucasus against infertility, and a decoction of branches treated syphilis. In this work, we investigated the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Tamarix ramosissima inflorescence extracts as an additive in the food industry. The results showed that the inflorescences exhibit high antioxidant activity, the degree of inhibition at 20 µl of the studied material is 9 times greater. compared with ascorbic acid and 3 times compared with emoxypine. In addition, tamarisk extracts have shown noticeable antibacterial properties against the Staphylococcus aureus strain. The strongest activity was recorded in 70% of the water-alcohol extract of inflorescences at a minimum concentration of 1 to 10. These data indicate that tamarix can be considered as an interesting source of antioxidants for the therapeutic or nutraceutical industry and for food production. These indicators characterize tamarisk extracts as an object for further study, and without a doubt are promising and little-studied raw materials for the food industry