| Popis: |
On average, Nigeria loses 30-50% of its fish harvest to spoilage. This exacerbates her fish demand-supply gap; hence the need to devise means of mitigating the spoilage. This paper reports the findings of a study that delved into the antimicrobial properties of Grape Fruit ( Citrus paradisa ), Pawpaw ( Carica papaya ) and Black Pepper ( Piper guineese ) extracts on organisms associated with fish spoilage. In the study, the antimicrobial effect of five concentrations (0.1, 0.2., 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5g/ml) of ethanolic, cold and hot water extracts of these plants on spoilage organisms associated with catfish ( Clarias gariepinus ) were assessed, through measuring inhibition zones, using the cup plate diffusion method. The inhibition zones were found to significantly differ, across extraction method; plant material and extract concentration. Hot water was found to be the best extraction method, with a mean inhibition zone of 4.42 +- 0.38mm; followed by ethanolic and cold water methods, with 3.55 +- 0.47 mm and 0.60 +- 0.15 mm respectively. Among the plant materials, grape peel had the best antimicrobial activity, with a mean inhibition zone of 3.70 + 0.40mm against the eleven microorganisms tested, followed by black pepper (2.68 + 0.42mm) and then pawpaw seed (2.1 + 0.32mm). Key words: Antimicrobialactivity; Piper guineese; Citrus paradisa; Carica papaya |
