No abstract

New natural compounds that are effective against pathogenic and food spoilage microbes are needed, especially those that are resistant to conventional antimicrobial compounds. This study aimed to determine the composition and antimicrobial activity of patchouli, citronella, nutmeg essential oil and their mixtures against pathogenic and food spoilage microbes that is Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella sp, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. The antimicrobial activity test was carried out by using the disc diffusion method to determine the zone of inhibition. Citronella oil has higher antimicrobial activity in inhibiting the growth of Aspergillus niger, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans, namely 38.28 mm, 26.22 mm and 16.21 mm, respectively. Meanwhile, for Shigella sp, patchouli oil is better able to inhibit the growth of Shigella sp, namely 6.80 mm. The combination of the mixture of citronella oil with patchouli oil and citronella oil with nutmeg oil can increase the inhibitory ability of patchouli oil and nutmeg oil respectively against the growth of Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger and Staphylococcus aureus. The sensitivity of pathogenic and food spoilage microbes tested against these three essential oils shows the potential for patchouli, citronella, and nutmeg essential oils to be used as natural preservatives in the food industry.

Patchouli is a fragrant oil that produces essential oils known as patchouli oil. The main content of patchouli oil is Patchouli alcohol (PA), generally to determine the PA content of patchouli oil uses chemicals and the waste is not good for the environment. Therefore, there is another alternative method to address these problem, one of the alternative technologies to determine the content of patchouli oil is to use Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). NIRS can be used to analyze samples rapidly, easily, non-destructive and does not require any chemicals. In this study, the PA content and patchouli oil refractive index were obtained through the acquisition of NIRS spectrum in patchouli oil samples from several different regions with different fractions. Patchouli oil classification is carried out by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method. The content of PA content and refractive index is carried out by verifying the factual results of laboratory tests using the Principal Component Regression (PCR) method. Patchouli alcohol spectrum data is found in the wavelength range of 1350-1450 nm and 1950-2100 nm. Predicted results with PCR for PA content and refractive index show values R2 = 0.95 and 0.99 respectively with RPD values of 5.07 and 0.0011.

Tomato is one of the fruit vegetables that had perishable properties so that it needs good postharvest handling to increase their shelf life. One of among other technologies, surface coating of tomatoes with edible ingredients added with natural antimicrobials is potential to be applied. Currently, nanotechnology represents an important area and an efficient option for extending the shelf life of foods. The research aimed to investigate the effect of edible coating, containing cinnamon oil nanoemulsion, to extend the storage life and quality of tomato fruits. Treatments given were (a) dipping time in the edible coating formula (1 and 3 minutes), and the storage period of tomatoes, namely 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 days at room temperature (27°C). As a control treatment, the inspection was also applied on non-coated tomatoes. The results showed that coating treatment was significantly able to delay changes in the quality attributes of tomatoes and longer shelf life compared to fruit that was not coated with an edible coating. Tomato edible coating has better in maintaining physicochemical characteristics (weight loss of 1.83%, TSS 0.34 Brix, vitamin C 59.8 mg/100g and total plate count of 7.88 × 106 CFU/g) than control throughout the storage period. The study concludes that cinnamon oil nanoemulsion coating could be a good alternative to preserve the quality and extend the storage life of tomatoes.

No abstract