STUDY OF BIO-PRESERVATIVE POTENTIAL OF TURMERIC ON TOMATO

Preservation of fruits and vegetables is a challenge for farmers, sellers and processors. Many chemical preservatives are used to increase the shelf life, to reduce the spoilage, to protect from microorganisms. The present study is to address this problem with an age old traditional preservative, turmeric, as bio preservative. Aqueous solution of turmeric at 5, 10 and 25 % (w/v) concentrations were used to preserve the tomatoes and the study was undertaken for 30 days. The change in physio-chemical characteristics such as weight, pH, lycopene content, dry matter content, total phenolic content were studied. The antimicrobial role of turmeric was also studied on E. coli, Lactobacillus and Aspergillus Niger. It was observed that there was a perceptible improvement in each of the parameters studied. Thus turmeric is suggested as a cheap and affordable preservative for harvested tomatoes. Further qualitative aspects must be studied to prove the bio preservative role of turmeric on tomatoes. Keywords: Shelf life, Bio preservative, Turmeric, Tomato, Spoilage, Antimicrobial