Microbes Associated with Freshly Prepared Juices of Citrus and Carrots

Abstract

Fruit juices are popular drinks as they contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that are essential for human being and play important role in the prevention of heart diseases, cancer, and diabetes. They contain essential nutrients which support the growth of acid tolerant bacteria, yeasts, and moulds. In the present study, we have conducted a microbiological examination of freshly prepared juices (sweet lime, orange, and carrot) by serial dilution agar plate technique. A total of 30 juice samples were examined for their microbiological quality. Twenty-five microbial species including 9 bacterial isolates, 5 yeast isolates, and 11 mould isolates were isolated from juices. Yeasts and moulds were the main cause of spoilage of juices. Aspergillus flavus and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa were observed in the maximum number of juice samples. Among bacteria Bacillus cereus and Serratia were dominant. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in few samples. Candida sp., Curvularia, Colletotrichum, and Acetobacter were observed only in citrus juice samples. Alternaria, Aspergillus terreus, A. niger, Cladosporium, and Fusarium were also observed in tested juice samples. Some of the microorganisms detected in these juice samples can cause disease in human beings, so there is need for some guidelines that can improve the quality of fruit juices.

Ready-to-eat semi-dried tomatoes: Study to preserve the product quality

“…Generally, the organic acids content of tomatoes are responsible for creating a pH between 4.0 and 4.6. The low pH generally selects the growth of acid tolerant microorganisms, such as fungi (Aneja, Dhiman, Aggarwal, Kumar, & Kaur, ) and LAB (Sajur, Saguir, & Manca de Nadra, ). The antifungal effect of PS was noted on the yeasts evolution, in fact, as can be seen in the Figure , for the PS‐Air, PS‐M1, and PS‐M2 semi‐dried tomatoes no yeasts growth was observed.…”

In VitroAntimicrobial Activity of Spices and Medicinal Herbs against Selected Microbes Associated with Juices

“…In the previous study [24], microbiological analysis of fruit juices was done by serial dilution agar plate technique. On the basis of percentage of occurrence of microorganisms in juice samples, one Gram-positive bacterium, one Gram-negative bacterium, one yeast, and two moulds were selected for examining the antimicrobial activity of spices.…”

“…Certain common moulds such as Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Eurotium , Alternaria , Cladosporium , Paecilomyces , and Botrytis have also been reported in spoilage of fruit juices. The presence of pathogenic bacteria and mycotoxin producing mould cannot be ruled out in fruit juice which has been responsible for the increase in food borne outbreaks with the consumption of fresh fruit juices during the last two decades [14, 23, 24]. …”

Effect of low thermal pasteurization in combination with carvacrol on color, antioxidant capacity, phenolic and vitamin C contents of fruit juices

“…They are major sources of vitamin C and have a high antioxidant capacity (AOC) which helps fight against stress and prevents cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cancers (Aneja, Dhiman, Aggarwal, & Aneja, ; Gardner, White, McPhail, & Duthie, ; Paul & Ghosh, ; Vikram, Ramesh, & Prapulla, ). Their consumption has increased in recent years due to promotion of their natural flavor, nutritional quality, and various health benefits (Aneja, Dhiman, Aggarwal, Kumar, & Kaur, ).…”