Antioxidant activity and influence of Citrus byproduct extracts on adherence and invasion of Campylobacter jejuni and on the relative expression of cadF and ciaB.

Adherence and invasion to cells are the key processes during infection development by Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni). In this study, extracts from the byproducts of Citrus limon, Citrus aurantium, and Citrus medica were added to the cultures of C. jejuni, and the adherence and invasion of C. jejuni to HeLa cells and the expression of cadF and ciaB genes were analyzed. The relative expression of the genes was determined by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). The antioxidant activity was determined using spectrophotometric methods. Byproduct extracts at subinhibitory concentrations affected the adherence (reduced 2.3 to 99%) and invasion (reduced 71.3 to 99.2%) to the HeLa cells. The expression of cadF and ciaB was reduced from 66 to 99% and from 81 to 99%, respectively. The total phenolic content of the byproducts varied from 92 to 26 mg GAE/g and the total flavonoids varied from 161 to 29.29 mg QE/g. C. aurantium showed the highest percentage of radical scavenging activity (RSA, 90.1). These extracts can prove as effective alternatives for devising new strategies to control Campylobacter infections.