Vol. 7, Issue 4 (2018)

Author(s):
Jag Pal, CV Raju, Gayatri Pandey, Amitha and BN Shukla

Abstract:
Antimicrobial compounds were extracted from pomegranate (PPE) and orange peels (OPE) using the aqueous ethanol. The in vitro antimicrobial activities of pomegranate and orange extracts were investigated by agar-disc diffusion methods against five food borne pathogens Bacillus. subtilus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluroscens and Salmonella typhi. The concentration of PPE and OPE used was 10000 µg/mL. Both of the extracts were found to be the most effective antibacterial fraction against Gram-positive bacteria when compared to Gram-negative bacteria. Highest zone of inhibition (3.55mm) was measured in case of B. subtilus treated with OPE extract where as for the same species PPE showed the 1.55 mm diameters of inhibition. The OPE did not inhibit the growth of S. aureus and E coli where as the PPE showed the diameters of inhibition against all the tested food borne pathogens. The present investigation suggests that the PPE is good inhibiter of food borne pathogen and can be utilised as a natural antimicrobial agent for controlling the microbial activity.