The occurrence of foodborne diseases and food poisoning due to the consumption of
contaminated foods is increasing nowadays, thus become a major threat to food industries
in particular. In order to overcome this problem, prevention must be taken at the early
stages of food preparation like sanitization. Typically, chemically based antimicrobial
sanitisers were used in food industries to remove dirt and microbial population on food
surfaces or food equipment. However, the emergence of microbial resistance and
consumer awareness on the formation of carcinogenic compounds and safety issues in
long term effects has led researchers to find an alternative. Therefore, a study was
conducted to find a natural food sanitiser that was able to minimize the number of harmful
bacteria without a change in the food quality and safety. In this study, the stability of
Cosmos caudatus extract at different pH (pH 3, pH 7, pH 8 and pH 11) and temperatures
(25°C, 30°C, 50°C, 80°C and 121°C) were determined for suitability as food sanitiser.
The identification and quantification of this plant extract also were performed using HPLC
and LC-MS/MS analysis to detect the major compounds which contributed to the
biological activity of C. caudatus extract. Generally, results showed that the antimicrobial
activity of C. caudatus extract was stable after exposure to various pH and temperatures,
in fact, the extract increased its antimicrobial activity at lower acidity (pH 3) and higher
temperature (50°C) against most pathogens. Furthermore, quercetin 3-O-rhamnoside was
identified as a major compound in C. caudatus extract with the relative amounts of 29.66
mg/g. It can be concluded that C. caudatus extract is stable when exposed to various pH
and temperatures. These useful findings have proved the antimicrobial stability of C.
caudatus extract after exposure to several pH and temperatures thus can be further
developed as a food sanitiser in food industries.
Biodegradable Binary and Ternary Complexes from Renewable Raw Materials