Research Article
Victor Aduloju, A. T. Ezegbe,
Abstract
The antibacterial activities of the extract of Solanum lycopersicum var. ceraciforme were evaluated against five bacteria: Serratia marcescens, Micrococcus luteus, Streptococcus pyrogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus cereus. Ethanolic extract (UEE) of Solanum lycopersicum var. ceraciforme were obtained by standard methods. The antibacterial activity was assayed using agar well diffusion method. The ethannolic extract (UEE) exhibited antibacterial effects against the isolates with inhibiting zones ranging from 2.09±0.01 mm to 7.53±0.01 mm. UEE was able to inhibit the growth of Serratia marcescens and Micrococcus luteus which was resistant to the commercial antibiotic, erythromycin. The extract showed appreciable quantity of total phenol (tannic acid equivalent) of 22.12 MgGAE/g. The higher phenolic content of UEE may be responsible for its ability to inhibit more of the aerobic microflora from meat. This study shows that useful bioactives component that can be used in preserving meat from microbial spoilage are present in UEE.