Comparative Study of Banana, Mango and Papaya Waste as Natural Media for Microbial Growth
Keywords:
Fruit Waste, Microbial Growth, Nutrient Agar, Fruit Peel, Substitute MediumAbstract
The search for affordable and sustainable alternatives in microbiology has been driven by increasing costs and ethical dilemmas surrounding animal-derived culture media components. The potential utilization of banana (Musa spp.), papaya (Carica papaya), and mango (Mangifera indica) fruit waste as substitute nutritional sources to partially or fully substitute meat extract and peptone in nutrient agar formulations is investigated in this study. Aqueous extracts from fruitpeel are incorporated into modified agar media and tested for their ability to promote the growth of Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Microbial growth is assessed by colony count, colony diameter, and morphological characteristics. The expected outcome is thatbanana peel extract has the highest growth potential among the three substrates, which shows that fruit waste- based media supports moderate to substantialmicrobial growth. Despite the fact that growth on waste-based medium is typically lower than on standard nutrient agar, for several of the test organisms, thedifferences are not statistically significant (p > 0.05) when peptone is partially retained. These results imply that tropical fruit waste, especially banana peels, can beused as a practical and environmentally responsible substitute medium component for standard microbiological applications, particularly in environments with limited resources. Their nutritional capacity and standardization for wider microbiological usage may be improved by further optimization.
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