## 3 Results and Discussion
### Antimicrobial Activity  
The zones of inhibition of the growth of microorganisms in the analyzed plant materials are shown in Table 1. This study found that various bacteria and yeast were sensitive  
Figure 1: Total polyphenols content (**A**), antioxidant activity (ABTS+ (**B**); FRAP (**C**)) and their potential bioaccessibility in the analyzed plant materials. to several plant seed and algae ethanol extracts. Milk thistle extract was found to show activity against both Gram-positive (_B. subtilis_, _E. faecalis_) and Gram-negative bacteria (_P. mirabilis_). Growth of _E. faecalis_ was also inhibited by cold-pressed milk thistle seed flours [45]. Food-borne _E. faecalis_ is connected with common dental diseases and is able to colonize oral biofilm [46]. Accordingly, milk thistle extract may have beneficial properties as a food additive. Almond ethanol extract showed activity against _B. subtilis_ and _V. harveyi_. The presented results expand the spectrum of plant seeds, with the ethanol extracts of fenugreek, white sesame, star anise and, as mentioned before, milk thistle, as well as almond, showing anti-_Bacillus_ activity. Star anise extract achieved the highest ratings for inhibition of _B. subtilis_ growth--approximately 9 mm. In 2009, there was a report about a novel toxin produced by _B. subtilis_ strains isolated from foods that could be related to food poisoning outbreaks [47]. _V. harveyi_ is the prevalent bacterial pathogen in farmed shrimp [48]. Activity against this Gram-negative bacteria was also shown by fenugreek, white sesame and eggfruit ethanol extracts. The World Health Organization identified _P. aeruginosa_ as a quality indicator for drinking water [49]. Effective growth inhibition of _P. aeruginosa_ was observed for white mustard seed extract. Previous studies have shown similar activity in extracts from basil, clove, cumin, dill, garlic and thyme [2]. In August 2008, _P. mirabilis_ was identified as responsible for an outbreak of food poisoning in Beijing [50]. Eggfruit ethanol extracts may be useful to reduce the growth _P. mirabilis_--the extract revealed significant inhibition zones (4.18 mm). Activity against this Gram-negative bacteria was also shown by milk thistle, fenugreek, white mustard seed and star anise extracts. Previous research only pointed to anti-_Proteus_ activity in garlic [2]. Fenugreek and white sesame extracts indicated minor antifungal activities against _C. albicans_. Likewise, _C. albicans_ has been found to be sensitive to garlic and clove extracts [51]. Regarding the current and previous results, there is a need to evaluate the usefulness of spices in terms of their antimicrobial activities against bacteria and fungi. Among the selected plant seeds and algae, black cumin, spirulina and chlorella showed no inhibition of the chosen microorganisms. However, cumin oil has demonstrated antimicrobial and antifungal activities in laboratory tests against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria species, proving to be effective against the genera _Clavibacter_, _Crutobacterium_, _Rbloodococcus_, _Erwinia_, _Xanthomonas_, _Ralstonia_ and _Agrobacteriumium_ isolated from clinical isolates and foods [8], as well as against the fungi _Penicillium notatum_, _Apergillus niger_, _A. fumigatus_, _Microsporum canis_[8]. The strong inhibition of the growth of microorganisms by the plant materials, especially milk thistle and fenugreek, resulted from the strong positive correlation between TPC and antimicrobial activity against bacteria and yeast (the Person correlation was higher than 0.6). This could be correlated with active constituents, such as isomeric flavonolignans--namely, silibinin (silybin), silychristin and silidianin, collectively known as silymarin, which is extracted from dried milk thistle seeds [52; 53], and catechin, epicatechin, gallic acid, coumaric acid, cinnamic acid and vanillic acid, found in fenugreek ethanolic extract [35].