Impact of Antimicrobial-Loaded Emulsion System Stabilized with Gum Arabic on Food-Borne Pathogens

Abstract

With increased awareness among consumers on human health and nutrition, there is a drastic shift in eating patterns and increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. However, food safety remained a prime concern among authorities and regulatory bodies with perishable commodities being easily prone to microbial contamination and related food-borne disease outbreaks. Use of synthetic preservatives and chemical treatments has proven to be expensive and pose serious health hazards. Thus, one alternative approach could be the use of antimicrobial emulsion-based edible coating over fresh-cut fruits to inactivate microorganisms and obtain enhanced shelf life. The key aspect of this research is to formulate and characterize essential oil loaded emulsions stabilized with gum arabic. Briefly, formulated samples were subjected to ultrasonic emulsification at 40% amplitude for 3 min duration, and the emulsion-based edible coating was applied over fresh-cut papaya. The antimicrobial efficacy of model antimicrobials carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde were tested alone and in combination against Gram-positive bacteria. The study demonstrated that concentration of antimicrobial compounds used in combination work synergistically. Secondly, use of antimicrobial loaded emulsion as the delivery vehicle would yield enhanced shelf life against food-borne pathogens