Comparative antibacterial potential of Tetrapleura tetraptera extracts on some common food pathogens

Abstract

The harmful effects of chemical preservatives on food safety have spiralled interest in natural antimicrobial agents. This study investigates the antibacterial potential of Tetrapleura tetraptera (Aridan pods) extracts against common foodborne pathogens.To evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of Dimethyl Sulphate, Methanolic, and n-hexane extracts from Tetrapleura tetraptera pods and assess their potential as natural alternatives to synthetic preservatives.The sensitivity was tested using the agar well diffusion method against isolated organisms from food, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Serratia marcescens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Zones of inhibition were measured to assess efficacy.The zone of inhibition measurements against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella, and Serratia marcescens were as follows: 20.00 mm, 18.00 mm, 19.6 mm, 16.5 mm, and 17.00 mm, respectively, for the dimethyl sulfate extracts; 15.30 mm, 14.00 mm, 11.07 mm, 16.0 mm, and 17.0 mm for the methanolic extracts; and 13.00 mm, 11.24 mm, 13.00 mm, 12.00 mm, and 15.00 mm for the n-hexane extracts. significant difference (p > 0.05) as revealed by analysis of variance was noticed on the isolates for the dimethyl sulfate extracts but not for the aqueous or methanolic extracts of Tetrapleura tetraptera pod.Tetrapleura tetraptera extracts demonstrate potent antibacterial properties, suggesting their potential as natural alternatives to synthetic antibiotics in food preservation.