• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.256-261
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• 1998

To investigate the function and effectiveness of natural antimicrobial agent(NAA), as freshness preserving material, extracted from medicinal herbs, their antimicrobial activities were tested against Bacillus cereus, Corynebacterium xerosis, Peudomonas syringae and Enterobacter aerogenes causing the postharvest decay of greenhouse produce. The ethanol extracts of Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. et Zucc and Syzyrium aromaticum (L.) Merr. et Perry showed remarkable inhibitory effect on the growth of above-mentioned reference microorganisms when treated with mon than 500ppm. The antimicrobial activities of NAA were very stable in the wide spectrum of temperature (40$^{\circ}C$-180$^{\circ}C$) and pH(4-10).