The aim of this paper was to study the polyphenols of peel and pulp of three Citrus taxa-Citrus medica, Citrus bergamia, and Citrus medica cv. Salò-cultivated in the Cosenza province, Southern Italy, and to evaluate their antioxidant and antibacterial activity, performed against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pectobacterium carotovorum. Furthermore, we assessed the inhibitory effect of the extracts on bacterial capacity to form biofilm, and on the metabolic activity of the cells present therein. The results indicated that such extracts could find new potential applications in the field of natural antioxidant and anti-bacterial agents in pharmaceutics, agriculture, and food fields.
Keywords: Citrus bergamia; Citrus medica; Citrus medica cv. Salò; antibacterial activity; biofilm; polyphenols.