Natural Products for Materials Protection: Corrosion and Microbial Growth Inhibition Using Capsicum frutescens Biomass Extracts
2013
Oguzie, Emeka E. | Oguzie, Kanayo L. | Akalezi, Chris O. | Udeze, Irene O. | Ogbulie, Jude N. | Njoku, Victor O.
Extracts of the fruit of Capsicum frutescens (CF) were assessed for anticorrosion and antimicrobial activity. The anticorrosion effect of the ethanol extract on low carbon steel in acidic media was studied experimentally using gravimetric, impedance, and polarization techniques, while the antimicrobial efficacy of ethanol, methanol, water, and petroleum spirit extracts respectively against the corrosion-associated sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), Desulfotomaculum species, was assessed using the agar disc diffusion method. CF extract effectively inhibited both corrosion and SRB growth due to the action of the phytochemical constituents present therein, including alkaloids (8.8%), tannins (0.4%), and saponins (39.2%). The corrosion process was inhibited by adsorption of the extract organic matter on the steel surface, whereas the antimicrobial effect results from disruption of the growth and essential metabolic functions of the SRB. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to theoretically illustrate the electronic structure and adsorption behavior of the active alkaloidal constituents of CF extract, capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, and afforded molecular level insights on their individual contributions to the corrosion inhibiting action of the extract.
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