A Comparative Assessment of the Antibacterial Activity in Fruit Juice of Sri Lankan Sweet Orange Cultivars vis a vis Sour Orange

Abstract

Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), a key fruit species, is considered as a primary ingredient in herbal medical formulations against ailments such as food borne diseases. Sour orange (C. aurantium) is also very famous as a medicinal plant. There are six commonly grown sweet orange cultivars in Sri Lanka (Arogya, Bibila sweet, MKD, Sisila, BAN and MT) but the antibacterial activity present in their fruit juice is not well documented. Therefore, the present study was conducted to characterize the antibacterial activity of the fruit juice of these sweet oranges in comparison to sour orange and also to establish DNA barcodes for the tested cultivars for precise identification. Fruit juice was colle..