Abstract

IMPACT OF CARDIOSPERMUM HELICACABUM L. ON MICROBES ISOLATED FROM STREET VENDED FOOD IN MAYILADUTHURAI AREA

S.Vijayarani and T.Nithiya*

ABSTRACT

The aim of this work was to study the presence of food borne pathogens (Bacteria and Fungi) in street vended food and to investigate the antimicrobial activity of different leaf extract of Cardiospermum helicacabum, for a potential use in food industries. Five different food samples (chicken fry, vada, samosa, panipuri and biriyani) were collected from street vendors in Mayiladuthurai area, Tamilnadu, India. Presence of high aerobic bacterial load was observed in the samples. Pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas sp., Salmonella typhi, Shigella sp., Staphylococcus sp. Streptococcus pyogenes and fungi like Aspergillus niger were detected, is indicative of fecal and water borne contamination of food samples. All the isolates were inhibited by ethanol, acetone and aqueous leaf extract of Cardiospermum helicacabum. The leaf extract of Cardiospermum helicacabum considered in this research showed satisfactory antimicrobial activity and could be used for the treatment of microbial infection from the street food contamination.

Keywords: Cardiospermum helicacabum, Antimicrobial activity, ethanol, acetone and aqueous extract, Food borne pathogens, Agar disc diffusion method.