SUSCEPTIBILITY OF FOOD PRESERVATIVES ON MRSA AND MSSA ISOLATED FROM CLINICAL SAMPLES

Food preservatives are those substances which prevent spoilage caused by microbial or chemical causes. These preservatives may be natural or artificial. Natural preservatives are a hundred percent safe although the effectiveness lasts for shorter duration as compared with the artificial ones. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from various clinical samples and confirmation was done using various biochemical tests. Antibiogram revealed the presence of 22 MRSA islolates and also the sensitivity pattern of the isolates. Susceptibility checking of various selected natural and artificial preservatives showed that natural preservatives are more efficient in controlling the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus than artificial ones and among the tested natural preservatives, honey gave the best results. Honey has been used from ancient times for various used in food , medical and cosmetic field. This study has gone a step further to say that it can act as a competitive antibiotic agent as well. Key words: Staphylococcus aureus, artificial preservatives and antibiotic