A preliminary study on preservative effect of ocimum sanctum. (thulsi) in raw milk

The study was conducted to assess the potential of Ocimum sanctum uses in dairy microbiology. The antibacterial effect of Ocimum sanctum powder extracts were well examined by Standard Plate Count Method against microorganisms present in raw fresh milk collected from Jeli, Kelantan at the dosage of 150 mg/mL, 225 mg/mL and 300 mg/mL. The data obtained shows all the treatments have significantly differ with control sample at p<0.05. It was found that sample with highest dosage of extract at 300 mg/mL shown maximum inhibition of total viable count in milk at mean of 3.50 ± 0.12 log CFU/mL at 24 h of storage, whereby milk with 225 mg/mL shows mean of 3.91 ± 0.58 log CFU/mL at 24 h of storage period. Thereby it can be concluded that Ocimum sanctum is a suitable extracts for preserving milk at 24 h of storage and has potential to use against dairy spoilage microbes.