EMERGENT LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH - Vol 10, Issue 2, Published on 31, December 2024

Pages: 58-66
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Evaluation of Lactic acid bacteria for extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables

Author: M. T. Suresh, R. Poorniammal, S. Prabhu, M. Suryabalan

Category: Research Article

Abstract:

The preservation of fruits and vegetables using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated directly from fruits and vegetables is a human-friendly approach. The fruits and vegetables which were available in the nearby local market were used for this experiment. LAB in these fruits and vegetables were enriched using skim milk broth. Then the cultures were isolated and purified. LAB was isolated using MRS media. Then after serious of morphological and biochemical characterization, their antimicrobial property was assessed against B. subtilis, E. coli, Pseudomonas sp., Xanthomonas sp., Serratia sp. and Collectotrichum sp., Alternaria sp., Sclerotia sp., Rhizopus sp. and best isolate which was performed well as selected and polysaccharide was extracted by centrifuge method at 10,000 rpm for 20 minutes. The Lactobacillus plantarum LABB3 was found to be the best isolate recorded maximum polysaccharide with antimicrobial activity. Then fruits and vegetables (banana, papaya, carrot, beans) were coated with these polysaccharides (biofilm). It is found that these biofilms reduce the weight loss of fruits and vegetables and also reduce atmospheric microbial attack on fruits and increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Thus these edible biofilms can be used as bio preservatives for increasing the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

Keywords: biofilm, fruits, lactic acid bacteria, polysaccharide, shelf life, vegetables

DOI URL: http://doi.org/10.31783/ELSR.2024.1025866