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Microbial Control and Food Preservation pp 85–100Cite as

Antimicrobials of Plant Origin

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Part of the book series: Food Microbiology and Food Safety ((RESDEV))

Abstract

Antimicrobial compounds of plant origin are used as natural preservatives to control spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in foods. The food safety applications of these plant derived compounds are considered as natural alternatives to chemical antimicrobial agents, in addition to being cheaper and safer substitutes. These bioactive compounds in plants are secondary metabolites, usually produced and accumulated in various plant parts and their activities depend on the concentration, composition, structure, and functional groups. Major examples of such plant compounds include vitamins, antioxidants, essential oils, hydrocolloids, proteins, aldehydes, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals. These compounds have been documented to exhibit antimicrobial properties against various foodborne pathogens. The food safety applications of selected plant derived antimicrobials in controlling survival and resistance of pathogens in foods are briefly discussed in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earthbound Farm, The WhiteWave Foods Company, 1721 San Juan Highway, San Juan Bautista, CA, USA

    Dinesh Babu

  2. Food Safety Professional, Gilroy, CA, USA

    Kalpana Kushwaha

  3. Department of Food Technology, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Shalini Sehgal

  4. Residue Chemistry and Predictive Microbiology Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Wyndmoor, PA, USA

    Vijay K. Juneja

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  1. Dinesh Babu
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  2. Kalpana Kushwaha
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  3. Shalini Sehgal
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  4. Vijay K. Juneja
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Correspondence to Dinesh Babu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Residue Chemistry and Predictive, Microbiology Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA

    Vijay K. Juneja

  2. BioMerieux, Inc., Hazelwood, Missouri, USA

    Hari P. Dwivedi

  3. Department of Animal Sciences, Center for Meat Safety and Quality, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    John N. Sofos

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Babu, D., Kushwaha, K., Sehgal, S., Juneja, V.K. (2017). Antimicrobials of Plant Origin. In: Juneja, V., Dwivedi, H., Sofos, J. (eds) Microbial Control and Food Preservation. Food Microbiology and Food Safety(). Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7556-3_5

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