Antimicrobial Properties of Grape Fruit, Pawpaw and Black Pepper Extracts on Organisms associated with Fish Spoilage

Abstract

On average, Nigeria loses 30- 0% of its fi sh harvest to spoilage. This exacerbates her fi sh demand- supply gap; hence the need to devise means of miti gati ng the spoilage. This paper reports the fi ndings of a study that delved into the anti microbial properti es of Grape Fruit (Citrus paradisa), Pawpaw (Carica papaya) and Black Pepper (Piper guineese) extracts on organisms associated with fi sh spoilage. In the study, the anti microbial eff ect of fi ve concentrati ons (0.1, 0.2., 0.3, 0.4 and 0. g/ml) of ethanolic, cold and hot water extracts of these plants on spoilage organisms associated with catf ish (Clarias gariepinus) were assessed, through measuring inhibiti on zones, using the cup plate diff usion method. The inhibiti on zones were found to signifi cantly diff er, across extracti on method; plant material and extract concentrati on. Hot water was found to be the best extracti on method, with a mean inhibiti on zone of 4.42 + 0.38mm; followed by ethanolic and cold water methods, with 3. + 0. mm and 0. 0 + 0.1 mm respecti vely. Among the plant materials, grape peel had the best anti microbial acti vity, with a mean inhibiti on zone of 3.70 + 0.40mm against the eleven microorganisms tested, followed by black pepper (2.68 + 0. 2mm) and then pawpaw seed (2.1 + 0.32mm).