Antimicrobial Activity of Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Leaves Extracts against Food Borne Pathogenic and Spoilage Microorganisms

Abstract

With continuous increase in the human population, the cases of food poisoning and spoilage are on the rise. Such spoilage of foods to avoid the growth of unwanted microorganisms in order to protect from poisoning is generally achieved by the use of preservatives. But due to continuous exposure of the microorganism with the same preservatives have been resulted to create resistance against it. So, in order to search for the new preservatives, the petroleum ether, chloroform, acetone, methanol and aqueous extracts of Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) leaves have been examined against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Aspergillus niger HN-2 microorganisms for antimicrobial activity. The conducted experimental results clearly indicated about its ability to restrict the growth of tested microorganisms generally responsible for food poisoning and spoilage. Since, the previous reported toxicity studies already showed its safety profile, these plant extracts can surely be the matter of alternative choice as food preservatives.