The microbial safety of foods continues to be a major concern to consumers, regulatory agencies and food industries
throughout the world. Many food preservation strategies have been used traditionally for the control of microbial
spoilage in foods but the contamination of food and spoilage by microorganisms is a problem yet to be
controlled adequately. Although synthetic antimicrobials are approved in many countries, the recent trend has
been for use of natural preservatives, which necessitates the exploration of alternative sources of safe, effective
and acceptable natural preservatives. Plants contain innumerable constituents and are valuable sources of new
and biologically active molecules possessing antimicrobial properties. Plants extracts either as standardized extracts
or as a source of pure compounds provide unlimited opportunities for control of microbial growth owing to
their chemical diversity. Many plant extracts possess antimicrobial activity against a range of bacteria, yeast and
molds, but the variations in quality and quantity of their bioactive constituents is the major detriments in their
food use.