Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry
Vol. 6, Issue 6 (2017)
Natural antimicrobials for food preservation
Author(s):
Fiza Nazir, Rehana Salim, Nargis Yousf, Mohsin Bashir, HR Naik and Syed Zameer Hussain
Abstract:
Many nontraditional preservation techniques are being developed to satisfy consumer demand of nutritious food. Generally, foods are thermally treated with temperatures varying from 60 to 100
oC for few seconds or a minute to destroy vegetative microorganisms. The energy transferred to the food during thermal treatment can affect the organoleptic and nutritional attributes. Ensuring food safety and at the same time meeting such demands for retention of nutrition and quality attributes has resulted in increased interest in alternative preservation techniques for inactivating microorganisms and enzymes in foods. Flavour, odor, color, texture, and nutritional value of a food are its important quality attributes. Use of natural preservatives derived from plants, animals, or microflora is being increasing studied to fulfill consumer demands. Use of natural or controlled microflora, mainly lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and/or their antibacterial products such as lactic acid, bacteriocins, and others to enhance products safety or storage life is called biopreservation. Typical examples of antimicrobials are casein, whey (milk), lysozyme (egg white, figs), saponins and flavonoids (herbs and spices), bacteriocins (LAB), and chitosan (shrimp shells). Shelf life of unprocessed or processed food is extended by reducing the microbial growth rate or viability. Some of spices and herbs are also known to contribute antimicrobials.
Pages: 2078-2082 | 2922 Views 1188 Downloads
Fiza Nazir, Rehana Salim, Nargis Yousf, Mohsin Bashir, HR Naik and Syed Zameer Hussain. Natural antimicrobials for food preservation. J Pharmacogn Phytochem 2017;6(6):2078-2082.