Assessment of Total Colony Count in Mungbean (Vigna radiata) Sprouts Preserved Using Crude Extract of Biopreservatives During Storage`

The present investigation was conducted with the aim to determine effective application of natural antimicrobial compounds mungbean sprouts and to assess the microbial quality of treated sprouts in terms of total plate count (TPC). Mungbeans were treated right from the time of germination (pre-germination mode) or its sprouts were treated for 15 min (post-germination mode) with 0.1% sodium benzoate as chemical preservative (Control II) and with various bio-preservatives viz., 7.7% clove, 9.5% cinnamon, 7.9% garlic 7.9% ginger crude extracts. The un-treated mungbean served as control (Control-I). The sprouts were packed in plastic disposable cups and stored in dark at room temperature (20±3C) conditions and low temperature (7±1C) conditions. A significant decreased rate of growth in TPC of sprouts during storage was observed under various treatments, however, the effect was lesser in post-germination mode. In pre-germination mode, at both temperature regimes, the minimum total plate count was observed in clove, while all other treatments were showing equal effectiveness. In post-germination mode all the treatments were equally effective in reducing total plate count. In conclusion, 7.7% clove crude extract showed highest effectiveness in pre-germination mode while in post-germination all crude extracts of bio-preservatives showed equal effectiveness at both storage temperatures.