Biopreservation of Tomatoes Using Bacteriocin Produced by L. Plantarum SJC 103 and L. Apis Hbam1

Abstract

Several species of Lactobacillus have been known to produce an antimicrobial peptide known as bacteriocin, which are generally regarded as safe thus making them suitable as food additives and thereby fulfilling consumers demand for chemical free food. The aim of the study was to produce bacteriocin from Lactobacillus plantarum SJC103 and L. apis HBAM1 and use the bacteriocin produced as a biopresevative of tomatoes. Production of bacteriocin from both Lactobacillus species were performed using broth cultures of the selected isolates, which were centrifuged at 4000 rev/min for 1 hr and then decanted to obtain the supernatant which contained the bacteriocin. The bacteriocin produced was purified using ammonium sulphate precipitation. Microbial analysis was conducted on untreated tomatoes (control), tomatoes treated with bacteriocin, and Staphylococcus aureus infected tomatoes treated with bacteriocin and all were stored under the same conditions. The biopreservative potential of bacteriocin from both isolates produced a reduction in colony for the treated 7 7tomatoes with 1.10 x 10 cfu/g and 2.15 x 10 cfu/g for L. plantarum and L. apis respectively which were 7significantly reduced when compared with the S. aureus infected tomatoes with 9.25 x 10 cfu/g on day 10 of preservation. It was concluded that bacteriocin from Lactobacilli can be harnessed as a natural antibacterial in the preservation of tomatoes.