AVALIAÇÃO DO EXTRATO DA PRÓPOLIS DE APIS MELLIFERA L. NA PRESERVAÇÃO DE MORANGOS IN NATURA CONTRA FUNGOS CONTAMINANTES

Microbiological contamination of food represents significant economic losses for the industry and new prevention and control measures have been developed. Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of strawberries, a pseudofruit that is easy to grow and adds value to small and large producers. Although it is widely cultivated, its characteristics are conducive to the development of different types of microorganisms, mainly fungi, which can act to contaminate and degrade the strawberry. The objective of this work was to evaluate the action of Apis mellifera L. propolis extract in preventing fungal growth in fresh strawberries. The propolis extract was obtained and tests were subsequently carried out to find out if there was any microbiological contamination that directly affected the results obtained after carrying out the treatments. The A. mellifera L. propolis extract was initially dissolved in sterilized deionized water in the following proportions: 1:9; 2:8 and 3:7 ml of water, thus consisting of three treatments. The experimental design consisted of four replications per treatment, with each replication consisting of a Petri dish with three strawberries. After the contact period of each treatment for 96 hours, the strawberries were, a priori, observed to identify fungal growth and sent for quantification of fungal colony forming units (CFU). After 96 hours, the growth of contaminating fungi became evident. Therefore, propolis extract was not able to attenuate fungal degradation and is therefore not effective in preventive activity.