Spice aroma to prevent fungal food spoilage

Spices are commonly used to impart their unique aroma and taste in the food preparations. Their extracts have proved antimicrobial by directly acting on them. The main objective of this study is to determine the antibacterial and antifungal effects of spices aroma from the distance of 2 cm and not their extracts. Aroma of 8 different Indian spices have assessed against Bacillus, Aspergillus and Penicillium spp. The spices used for this study were bought fresh from the local markets of Mangalore. Collected spices were clove, cumin, cinnamon, star anise, asafoetida, nutmeg and mace, pepper, carom seeds. Aroma of surface sterilized whole spices individually and in a mixture of eight was exposed to the microbes in the NA and SDA plates.
The result states that cumin and clove were more effective against Bacillus than the other spices; cinnamon was more effective against Aspergillus while cinnamon and carom seeds were more effective against Penicillium. Mixture of spices was more antimicrobial than individual spices but less antibacterial and more antifungal in action. In addition to the various uses of spice aroma as taste maker in food preparation, as room fresher and as pest repellent in museum, aroma of these spices mix can be used to preserve the cereals, pulses and grains thereby preventing fungal spoilage.
Keywords- Spice; aroma; antibacterial; antifungal; food