Antibrowning and Antimicrobial Activities of the Water-Soluble Extract from Pine Needles of Cedrus deodara

: The antibrowning and antimicrobial activities of the water‐soluble extract from pine needles of Cedrus deodara (CDE), a traditional Chinese medicine and raw materials of pine needle tea, was investigated. Total phenols of CDE were 31.4 ± 0.53 mg gallic acid equivalent/g, and total flavonoids were 23.1 ± 0.79 mg rutin equivalent/g. CDE showed a strong antioxidant activity against ABTS free radicals with IC50 (the half‐inhibitory concentration) of 25.5 ± 0.64 μg/mL. In mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory assay, IC50 values were 2.1 ± 0.98 and 2.27 ± 0.93 mg/mL for monophenolase and diphenolase, respectively. Evaluated by detecting changes of L* (indicated the darkness of sample), a* (indicated the redness of sample), and b* (indicated the yellowness of sample) values in fresh‐cut apple slices model, CDE showed a significant antibrowning effect when compared with ascorbic acid. In addition, it was discovered that CDE in combination with 0.5% ascorbic acid exhibited a synergistic antibrowning effect. Meanwhile, CDE was observed to show a potent antimicrobial effect on all of the tested Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. In conclusion, the results of the present research suggested that pine needles of C. deodara could be used as a natural resource of antibrowning and antimicrobial agents in food preservation. Practical Application: The present study provides a theoretical basis for the potential application of pine needles of C. deodara to be used as a natural resource of antibrowning and antimicrobial agents in food industry.