Antimicrobial Evaluation of Edible and Inedible parts of com-mon Vegetables and their use in increasing shelf life of Milk, Meat and Tomatoes

Abstract

Background: Bacterial diseases are commonly found all over the world and medicinal plants are vastly used for the cure these diseases. These plants are rich source of valuable antibacterial and food preservative agents. In Pakistan, tons of vegetables are discarded as inedible part during peeling and cutting before cooking as well as due to unavailability of proper preservative techniques. The present study was designed to check antibacterial and food preservative potential of commonly vegetables of Pakistan. Methods: The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of edible and inedible parts of Momordica charantia, Pisum sativum and Abellmoschus esculentus were made and tested against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimorium, Pasterurella multocida, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Micrococcus luteus by disc diffusion method. Zones of inhibition were measured. Results: Highest antibacterial activity was observed in ethanolic extracts of inedible parts of Pisum sativum. Moderate activity was observed from edible parts of Momordica charantia. The study has highlighted the use of vegetables as edible vaccines.