Paper Title
Effect Of The Combination Of Enterocinkt2w2g And Essential Oils Against Spoilage Microbes Isolated From The Surfaces Of Spoiled Bananas

Abstract
The deterioration of fresh food by spoilage microbes remains a significant problem even though a diversity of preservation approaches has been proposed. The consumer�s choiceis demanding for chemical and antimicrobialfree products, which has prompted the development of as natural alternativesolutions to deal with food spoilage. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of the combination of enterocin KT2W2G and essential oils (EOs) (orange, tea tree, citronella grass and cinnamon)against spoilage microbes isolated from the surfaces of spoiledbananas(Musa ABB cv. Kluai �Namwa�) by using the agar well diffusion assay.Eighteen spoilage microbes (9 strains of bacteria and 9 strains of fungi)were selected for being used as indicator strainsand identified using 16S rDNA and 18S rDNA gene for bacteria and fungi, respectively.Selected spoilage bacteria were identified as Lactococcus lactissubsp.lactis, Enterococcus faecalis,Lactococcus taiwanensis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Klebsiella variicola,and Serratia marcescens, whereas selected spoilage fungi wereidentified asKodamaea ohmeri, Pichia aff. fermentans, Pichia kudriavzevii, Hanseniaspora opuntiae, and Candida metapsilosis. Preliminary determination demonstrated thatthe most effective EOs against selected spoilage microbes was cinnamon when testedby agar well diffusion assay. The combination of enterocin KT2W2G andcinnamon oil showed a synergistic effect against selected spoilage microbes, whereasenterocin KT2W2G alone showed no activity. The results obtained in our study indicatethat the combination of enterocin KT2W2G with cinnamon oil presentspotential asnatural alternative.The replacement of the chemical sanitizers by a naturalalternative forbio-control willincrease the safety and extend the storage time of post-harvested bananas. Keywords- Banana, Bacteriocin, Enterocin, Essential Oil, Enterococcus Faecalis.