Production of fermented needle extracts from red pine and their functional characterization

Abstract: Pine needle (Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc.) extract is being used for millennia in treatment of multiple ailments in Asia Pacific region. The extract is a composite mixture of a number of organic compounds. Terpenoid is one of such complex compounds that exhibit useful effects. To remove harmful substances with improving functionality of the extract, people adopt traditional spontaneous fermentation followed by aging. To assess the fermentation induced effectiveness we analyzed composition of the volatile terpenoid in fresh to the 7 years old self-fermented extracts along with their anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties. Simultaneously, we also analyzed the effect of remarkably changed 1,8-cineole and camphor. SFPEs (self-fermented pine needle extracts), 1,8-cineole, and camphor inhibited growth of bacterial strains like Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Bacillus subtilis. Comparative studies between pine needle extracts, 1,8-cineole and camphor showed that the self-fermented pine needle extracts retard the bacterial growth effectively and have relatively higher antioxidant activities. PE (pine needle extract) and SFPEs showed nearly 95% DPPH radical scavenging activities, 1,8-cineole 84% while camphor showed no scavenging activities. The results showed that self-fermentation and aging improves the effects of the extract therefore it could be a good source for nutraceutical product.