In vitro antimicrobial activity of citrus waste-infused used cooking oil / Miradatul Najwa Muhd Rodhi … [et al.]

This study produced a natural disinfectant from used cooking oil (UCO) and citrus waste. Different formulation of citrus waste was infused in UCO and the antibacterial activity was evaluated. The formulation of waste citrus fruit infused UCO was at the ratio of 10%, 25%, and 50% of waste citrus and UCO by weight/volume (w/v) basis. The peels and seeds of orange (Citrus sinensis), lemon (Citrus limon), and key lime (Citrus aurantifolia) were used. The 50% w/v key lime citrus waste-infused UCO best inhibits Escherichia coli (E. coli) growth. The bacterial growth was reduced to 60% and 68% for dried and fresh lime- infused UCO. The presence of flavonoid, monoterpenes, monoterpenoid, sesquiterpene, sesquiterpenoid, alkaloid and aromatic compounds in the citrus waste-infused UCO was detected by UV-Vis and GC-MS. This contributes to legitimising the utilisation of citrus waste as a part of green-based disinfectants, while having the capacity to lessen waste and act as one of the potential materials in producing safer disinfectants.