Abstract

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This study was undertaken with the aim to investigate the potency of cashew leaf and bark extracts on microorganism associated with banana spoilage. Banana (Musa paradisica) was subjected to spoilage in the laboratory for 7days. Bacteria isolated from the sample include Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus vulgaris and Corynebacterium spp. The efficacies of the extracts were tested against the isolated microorganisms at various concentrations for 8 weeks. The results showed that the ethanolic extracts of both leaf and bark of Anacardium occidentale at the last concentration (10%) showed the highest antimicrobial activity. At 8.5% concentration, the activity of the aqueous leaf extract decreased with an increase in microbial growth and later decreased at 7.0% concentration. At the highest concentration of the ethanolic bark and leaf extract (10%), there was no count of Corynebacterium spp. and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. The aqueous extract showed a bit of effectiveness at the 7.0% of the extract by reducing the numbers of growth of the microorganism, but at the 8.5% concentration there was an increase in the microbial growth. The phytochemicals present in the Anacardium occidentale leaf and barks include saponins, tannins, flavonoids, phenol, glycosides, terpenoid and alkaloids. The study shows that the ethanol extract was more effective than aqueous extract.

Keywords: Banana, Cashew, Extraction, Concentration, Phytochemical, Susceptibility