Tenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Different varieties of microbes from surfaces of fruit and vegetables were isolated to get ideas about their surface flora. For isolation of bacteria, yeast, and fungi, we used nutrient agar medium, GYE agar medium and MRBA medium, respectively. The identification was carried out on the basis of 16s rRNA sequence. The plants selected include Ficus (Ficus religosa) stem, Amla (Phyllanthus emblica) fruit, Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) leaves, and Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) oil. Extract was prepared using soxhlet apparatus using methanol as a solvent, while the same was prepared using Clevenger apparatus for lemon grass. The active ingredients obtained were weighted, and they were suspended in adequate amounts in solvent, followed by impregnating filter paper discs till saturation. Antimicrobial activity of these samples was tested initially against known species of bacteria like Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. After study of antimicrobial activity of these extracts against known microbial sp., their antimicrobial activity was tested against the bacterial isolates isolated from the surface of fruits and vegetables. Lemongrass oil and Phyllanthus emblica extract were found superior to the remaining extracts. Lemongrass oil was able to inhibit the growth of 65% of the isolates isolated from fruit and vegetable surfaces, whereas Phyllanthus emblica was able to inhibit 42% of the isolates. The two other studied plant extracts showed only 11% of inhibition against the studied isolates. The results of isolate inhibition show the antibacterial effect of lemongrass oil better than the rest of the studied plant extracts.