Gentiana asclepiadea L. (Gentianaceae), commonly known as willow gentian, is a medicinal plant traditionally used for alleviating gastrointestinal and liver disorders. Owing to its pronounced bitterness, it is also utilized in the food industry, particularly as a flavoring component in liqueurs. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of an extract from the underground parts of G. asclepiadea and to assess the effect of microencapsulation on this property. The extract, obtained under previously optimized ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions (50 min, 65°C, 53% v/v ethanol, 40 mL/g liquid-to-solid ratio), was microencapsulated by spray-drying using 20% whey protein as a carrier. Antimicrobial activity was tested against a panel of enteropathogenic microorganisms (three Gram-positive, four Gram-negative bacterial strains, and one fungal strain). Both extract forms exhibited growth-inhibitory effects against all tested strains. Minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from 3.13 to 25.0 mg/mL for the unencapsulated extract and from 3.13 to 50.0 mg/mL for the microencapsulated extract. Enterococcus faecalis was the most sensitive strain. The unencapsulated extract showed slight selectivity toward Gram-positive bacteria, whereas the microencapsulated extract exhibited no such selectivity. Microencapsulation enhanced activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonella enteritidis, while in most other cases it reduced antimicrobial activity, though inhibition was still present. Mild antifungal activity against Candida albicans was observed for both extracts, without a fungicidal effect. The obtained results suggest that G. asclepiadea extract possesses antimicrobial potential, and that the microencapsulated form could be a valuable functional ingredient in pharmaceutical and food products. Gentiana asclepiadea L., antimicrobial activity, spray drying, microencapsulation BOOK OF ABSTRACTS startpage: 43 endpage: 43 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:8659 doi:10.46793/89429-60.boa ISBN: 978-86-89429-60-2 Faculty of Technology, Leskovac eng Jovanović, Miloš Milutinović, Milica Branković, Suzana Randjelović, Milica Miladinović, Bojana Kitić, Nemanja Ćujić Nikolić, Nada Šavikin, Katarina Mihajilov-Krstev, Tatjana Kitić, Dušanka ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MICROENCAPSULATED AND UNENCAPSULATED EXTRACTS FROM THE UNDERGROUND PARTS OF GENTIANA ASCLEPIADEA L. application/pdf 270428 bytes 2025 info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceProceedings All rights reserved