Biopreservation of Fruits (Tomato and Banana) Using Bacteriocin Produced by LACTOBACILLUS SPP.

The study aims the isolation of Lactic acid bacteria and the extraction of Bacteriocin from the isolated Lactobacillus and use of Bacteriocin as the bio preservative for the fruits. Bio preservation is the use of biological microorganisms and their products for the preservation of foods. In this study Lactobacillus was isolated and the Bacteriocin, a peptide or complex protein produced by bacteria to inhibit the growth of similar or closely related bacterial species. Now-a-days Bacteriocins are widely used in food industries to preserve food. The Lactobacillus species was isolated from mother’s breast milk and the Lactobacillus species was isolated and pure cultured. The Lactobacillus culture in MRS broth was centrifuged and supernatant was precipitated with ammonium sulfate. The precipitated supernatant was centrifuged and the pellet was stored in sodium phosphate buffer. The crude Bacteriocin extract from centrifugation was dried and purified form using chloroform-methanol extraction method. The antimicrobial activity of Bacteriocin was observed against pathogens like Escherichia coli, Bacillus, Salmonella, Serratia and Staphylococcus. In the antimicrobial activity, Bacteriocin does not exhibit any inhibitory activity against the pathogen Serratia, but it possess a fine inhibitory activity against other selected pathogens. The extracted Bacteriocin was applied in fruits (Tomatoes and Bananas) in different concentration ( 2 ml and 3 ml) and are daily observed along with the control. The result shows that the Bacteriocin applied in high concentration and low concentrations preserve the fruits (Tomatoes and Bananas) well than the control. Hence we conclude that Bacteriocin acts as a good bio preservative for food preservation.