Antimicrobial potential of banana peel: A natural preservative to improve food safety

The bacterial pathogens not only cause food borne illness and disturbance in the metabolic process of human body rather also cause the severe disorders leading to mortality. The present research was designed to investigate the antimicrobial potential of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of banana peel against food borne pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhus and Escherichia coli. The results showed that the extracts possessed significant antimicrobial potential against both Gram-negative (S. typhus & E. coli) and Gram-positive (B. subtilus & S. aureus) strains. The ethanolic extracts revealed maximum antimicrobial potential against S. typhus (16.27 +/- 0.01 mm zone of inhibition) and S. aureus (17.15 +/- 0.01 mm zone of inhibition) at 40 degrees C, which was very close to the antimicrobial potential of the standard antibiotics (Amoxicillin & Ciprofloxacin). The results concluded that banana peel would be a suitable choice to use as a natural preservative in food items to enhance the food safety.