Publication: Evaluation of the toxicity and antibacterial effects of plant essential oils against bacterial-contaminated tomatoes and lettuce
| dc.contributor.author | Soosay, Kian Sedrick | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-11-27T05:04:57Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-11-27T05:04:57Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-01 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Plant essential oils (EOs) can be used as natural preservatives to replace synthetic or artificial food preservatives. Some studies have examined the antimicrobial activity of vaporized EOs in treating bacterial-contaminated food. This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity and antibacterial effects of three plant EOs which include lemongrass EO (LEO), clove EO (CLEO) and cinnamon EO (CNEO) against bacterial-contaminated tomatoes and lettuce. The plant EO (LEO, CLEO and CNEO) were screened for their toxicities against Artemia salina by using the brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT). The antibacterial activity screening was determined by measuring Bacillus cereus growth inhibition on nutrient agar (NA) after being exposed to EO vapors at serial concentrations ranging from 0.38% v/v to 100% v/v. Subsequently, the least toxic and most potent EO was selected for the treatment of B. cereus-inoculated tomato and lettuce at cold (4°C) and room temperatures. Optical density (OD) readings were taken for each sample on the 1st, 3rd, and 7th day of treatment to measure the bacterial growth. LEO, CLEO, and CNEO showed no toxicity based on Clarkson and Meyer classification with LC50 values above 10000 ppm. LEO vapors showed lesser toxicity with the highest LC50 value of 122700 ppm and an inhibitory effect of more than 50% at 6.25% v/v concentration. B. cereus-contaminated tomato and lettuce treated with 6.25% v/v LEO vapor recorded lower OD readings of bacterial growth than those of untreated samples, particularly at room temperature within 7 days of incubation. This study suggests the potential of LEO as a safer and more effective natural food preservative, but further investigations are needed to examine if it can be used as an alternative preservative for foods at room temperature | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://erepo.usm.my/handle/123456789/23216 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.subject | - | |
| dc.title | Evaluation of the toxicity and antibacterial effects of plant essential oils against bacterial-contaminated tomatoes and lettuce | |
| dc.type | Resource Types::text::thesis::bachelor thesis | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| oairecerif.author.affiliation | Universiti Sains Malaysia |