Procedures to investigate potential of plants as natural food preservatives: Extraction technology, phytochemical characterisation, and antimicrobial bioassays

Abstract

There is increasing demand of natural food preservative in food manufacturing industry as it is the key to meet consumers’ preferences towards healthier food choice. Plant is one of the primary sources of bioactive compounds to be used as the natural food preservatives. More than 10,000 types of bioactive compounds that possess antimicrobial properties have been found in the plants around the world. Still, the possibility of many other plant species to be used as food preservative remain unexplored. This review paper describes the general procedures used to investigate the potential of the unexplored plants as the natural food preservative. The current challenges and way forward in using plant extract as a food preservative in the food industry are also discussed.

Keywords

• Antimicrobial activity
• Natural food preservative
• Plant-based extraction
• Chemical characterisation
• Bioassays