Novel Perspectives on Food-Based Natural Antimicrobials: A Review of Recent Findings Published since 2020

Abstract

Various fruit and vegetable wastes, particularly peels, seeds, pulp, and unprocessed residues from the food industry, are abundant sources of antioxidants and essential antimicrobial agents. These valuable bioactive compounds recovered from the food industry have a great application in food, agriculture, medicine, and pharmacology. Food-derived natural antimicrobials offer advantages such as diminishing microbial loads and prolonging the shelf life of food products particularly prone to microbial spoilage. They not only enrich the foods with antioxidants but also help prevent microbial contamination, thereby prolonging their shelf life. Similarly, incorporating these natural antimicrobials into food packaging products extends the shelf life of meat products. Moreover, in agricultural practices, these natural antimicrobials act as eco-friendly pesticides, eliminating phytopathogenic microbes responsible for causing plant diseases. In medicine and pharmacology, they are being explored as potential therapeutic agents. This review article is based on current studies conducted in the last four years, evaluating the effectiveness of food-based natural antimicrobials in food, agriculture, medicine, and pharmacology.

The mechanistic role of natural antimicrobials in preventing Staphylococcus aureus invasion of MAC-T cells using an in vitro mastitis model

“…Ajose et al 2023, have recently reviewed ethnoveterinary medicinal plants and ethnoveterinary medicinal products utilised in dairy and livestock farming to combat mastitis, with the most prominent plants as Becium obovatum , Malva parviflora , Brucea antidysenterica , Acorus calamus L., Triticum sp, Arachis hypogeam , Peganum harmala , Citrus limon , Withania somnifera and others [ 8 ]. Among plant extracts, Sorghum phenol extract [ 5 ], sweet orange peel ( Citrus sinensis ), pomegranate ( Punica granatum ) [ 22 , 23 ], indian screw tree ( Helicteres isora ) [ 24 ], lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis ), a specie of laurel wood ( Knema retusa ) [ 25 ] and olive [ 13 ] extracts demonstrated strong antimicrobial activity against different S. aureus strains including other BM-associated pathogens. After in vitro disc diffusion assays from recent studies, the authors have reported the inhibitory zones against S. aureus significant average zones ranging from 22 to 31 mm [ 24 , 26 ].…”