POTATO PEEL EXTRACT A NONMUTAGENIC ANTIOXIDANT WITH POTENTIAL ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY

Freeze-dried water extract of potato peels (pp), containing chlorogeni c, caffeic, gallic, and protocatechuic acids, was tested for effective ness as a natural antioxidant. The pp was prepared from peel waste of Russet Burbank potatoes. Safety concerns regarding the use of pp in fo ods were investigated. The pp was examined for mutagenic activity usin g the in vitro Salmonella typhimurium Escherichia coil microsome assay and found to be nonmutagenic. Plate count of pp revealed <10 CFU/g. T he antibacterial activity of the pip was species dependent. It was eff ective only at high concentration against gram negative and one gram p ositive bacteria but it was bacteriostatic.