BOTANICAL BIOPRESERVATIVES USE TO CONTROL SAPROPHYTIC AND PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS IN FOODS

PONCE, A.; MOREIRA MR; S ROURA

Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants, Phytomedicines

Studium Press LLC, USA

Lugar: Houston, Texas USA; Año: 2007; p. 555 - 563

Abstract The exploration of naturally occurring antimicrobials in food preservation receives increasing attention due to consumer awareness of natural food products and a growing concern about microbial resistance towards conventional preservatives. Many spices and herbs exert antimicrobial activity to their essential oil fractions, as well as some native microflora naturally present on fresh produce surfaces are capable of producing antimicrobial compounds playing an important role in maintaining fresh vegetable quality and safety. The use of essential oils on fresh vegetables, as an alternative to the use of synthetic chemicals to preserve organically grown produce, was investigated through in vitro and in vivo experiments. Some oils presented antimicrobial and antioxidant activities that indicate clearly their potential to become technological useful products as sanitizing agents. Clove and tea tree essential oils were highly inhibitory to a selected pathogen Escherichia coli. Key words : Botanicals, E. coli, Biopreservatives, Fresh vegetables, Native microflora