Chemical profiling, in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of pomegranate, orange and banana peel-extracts against pathogenic microorganisms.

Background: The use of natural preservatives became of great interest; good examples of these natural preservation agents are plant peels. The use of plant peels has dual benefits; first is their antimicrobial activity against food-borne pathogens, while the second is minimizing agro-industrial wastes.

Results: The evaluation of the antimicrobial potential of both methanolic and ethanolic extracts of three fruit peels (orange, pomegranate, and banana), against 4 Gram-positive (G), 3 Gram-negative bacteria (G), and 2 fungal strains revealed that both pomegranate peel extracts exhibited significantly higher inhibitory effect on all tested G bacteria.