Efficacy of Plant Antimicrobials as Preservative in Food

Abstract

Safe and hygienic food is a requirement for a healthy society. The problem of food-borne outbreaks has built a challenge against the food and health regulatory authorities to control the pathogenic microorganisms. Chemical preservative has created some health problems in foods, so the recent trend is towards the use of natural antimicrobials in foods. Plants are valuable source of bioactive molecules exhibiting antimicrobial activities. The plant antimicrobial compounds have diverse chemical nature such as alkaloids, phenolics, terpenes, terpenoids, flavonoids, essential oil, etc. Many plant antimicrobials possess antimicrobial activity against pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. But variation in effectiveness of these compounds against microorganisms in laboratory system and in real food systems is major determinant in their food use. Several plant extract or purified compounds are part of human diet since thousands of years. Although some plant compounds enjoy the status of generally recognised as safe (GRAS), typical toxicological information of their use in food is not available. So the improvement in cost-effective isolation and toxicological information of these compounds is helpful in their use as biopreservative in foods.

Antimicrobial Effect of Phytochemicals from Edible Plants

“…The concept of naturalness relates to healthy and unmodified food without chemical preservatives. However, consuming raw fruits, vegetables, fruit juices, and sprouts may cause foodborne outbreaks of illness [294].…”

“…Conventional methods of microbial inactivation and food decontamination include thermal processing, sanitization, water washing, drying, freezing, refrigeration, irradiation, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and the addition of antimicrobial agents, disinfectants, or salts. Irradiation, heat, high pressure, magnetic or electrical fields, and ultrasound are microbial inactivation methods that do not induce microbial resistance [16,57,294,295]. Water washing and sanitization reduce bacterial load with limited success, and disinfectants might cause genotoxicity and carcinogenicity.…”

“…Chemical preservatives such as sugar, acids, and salts (sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, nitrites, and nitrates) are used commercially in fruits, dairy products, confections, meats and meat products, etc. [294,295]. However, growing evidence of the harmful effects and health risks of these chemical preservatives leaves no other option but to find new methods that will reduce their amounts in foods.…”

“…Since plants are easily attacked by insects, fungi, and bacteria, they develop an efficient defense system against pathogens by producing secondary metabolites, such as phenols, oxygen-substituted derivatives, terpenoids, quinines, tannins, and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The most promising biopreservative plant products are essential oils, plant AMPs, and plant extracts in either pure or crude form [294].…”

Active Packaging-Releasing System with Foeniculum vulgare Essential Oil for the Quality Preservation of Ready-to-Cook (RTC) Globe Artichoke Slices

“…The different compounds having antimicrobial activities in plant are alkaloids, phenolics, terpenes, terpenoids, flavonoids, essential oil, etc. [ 14 , 15 ]. The positive effects of the addition of EOs into individual carrier, as emitters inside packaging, instead of the incorporation into polymers, is to avoid any undesired change of properties of the polymeric films [ 16 ].…”