Antimicrobial activities of commercial essential oils and their components against food-borne pathogens and food spoilage bacteria.

Hasika Mith,Véronique Delcenserie,Abdesselam Zhiri,Rémi Duré,Georges Daube,Antoine Clinquart

doi:10.1002/fsn3.116

Hasika Mith, Véronique Delcenserie + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.116

Copy DOI

Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine the in vitro antimicrobial activities of 15 commercial essential oils and their main components in order to pre-select candidates for potential application in highly perishable food preservation. The antibacterial effects against food-borne pathogenic bacteria (Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7) and food spoilage bacteria (Brochothrix thermosphacta and Pseudomonas fluorescens) were tested using paper disk diffusion method, followed by determination of minimum inhibitory (MIC) and bactericidal (MBC) concentrations. Most of the tested essential oils exhibited antimicrobial activity against all tested bacteria, except galangal oil. The essential oils of cinnamon, oregano, and thyme showed strong antimicrobial activities with MIC ≥ 0.125 μL/mL and MBC ≥ 0.25 μL/mL. Among tested bacteria, P. fluorescens was the most resistant to selected essential oils with MICs and MBCs of 1 μL/mL. The results suggest that the activity of the essential oils of cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and clove can be attributed to the existence mostly of cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, thymol, and eugenol, which appear to possess similar activities against all the tested bacteria. These materials could be served as an important natural alternative to prevent bacterial growth in food products.

Highlights

Pathogenic and food spoilage bacteria have been considered as the primary causes of food-borne diseases and food quality deterioration in both developed and developing countries
Critical concerns have been raised due to limitations of treatment processes and since survival of environment-adapted bacteria after treatment processes may lead to high resistance of bacteria such as pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and some Salmonella serovars (Whitney et al 2007; Hugas and Tsigarida 2008; Rajkovic et al 2009)
Oil of Origanum majorana was more active against Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria

Summary

Introduction

Pathogenic and food spoilage bacteria have been considered as the primary causes of food-borne diseases and food quality deterioration in both developed and developing countries. Critical concerns have been raised due to limitations of treatment processes and since survival of environment-adapted bacteria after treatment processes may lead to high resistance of bacteria such as pathogenic Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and some Salmonella serovars (Whitney et al 2007; Hugas and Tsigarida 2008; Rajkovic et al 2009). The different diseases such as campylobacteriosis, listeriosis, hemorrhagic colitis, and salmonellosis caused by food-related pathogenic bacteria were still reported (Newell et al 2010; EFSA and ECDC 2011).

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion