Antimicrobial effect of turmeric (Curcuma longa) on chicken breast meat contamination

Tc Lourenço,Ep Mendonça,Da Rossi,Pl Silva,Rt Melo,Pc Nalevaiko

doi:10.1590/s1516-635x2013000200002

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of turmeric (Curcuma longa), also known in Brazil as saffron, on the reduction of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli counts in chicken meat. Forty breast meat samples were divided in two groups (A and B). In group A, 10³-10(4)E. coli (ATCC 25922) cells were inoculated and group B samples were inoculated with 10(4)-10(5)S. aureus (ATCC 9801) cells, after which each group was divided in three samples. The first sample was analyzed immediately after inoculation. The second sample (control group) was stored at 4 ºC for 48 hours and turmeric at 1% (w/w) was added to the third sample, which was homogenized and then stored under the same conditions as the second sample. E. coli and S. aureus were enumerated in all samples. Mean bacterial counts determined for the control samples and for the samples with turmeric addition after 48h of storage were 1.83 x 10(4) CFU g-1 and 1.80 x 10(4) CFU g-1 for S. aureus, and 9.36 x 10³ CFU g-1 and 7.25 x 10³ CFU g-1 for E. coli, respectively. The results showed that there was no significant reduction in bacterial counts with the addition of 1% turmeric to chicken breast meat.

Highlights

The microbial contamination of foods is an important public health concern, and it is influences economy
Different pathogens have been isolated from chicken meat and have been involved in foodborne diseases, such as Escherichia coli (Moreira et al, 2005) and Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin (Freitas et al, 2004)
Consumers have demanded from the food companies the application of practices to reduce the levels of chemical additives in food products, as many food preservatives have harmful side effects, including carcinogenic activity (Moreira et al, 2005). This has led to the search of natural alternatives for food preservation, minimizing consumers’ health hazards (Souza et al, 2003).The study and assessment of antimicrobial activity in natural products, such as spices, have been stimulated with the aim of finding new options for the replacement of chemical preservatives to control the growth of foodborne pathogens (Coutinho et al, 2003)

Summary

Introduction

The microbial contamination of foods is an important public health concern, and it is influences economy. Consumers have demanded from the food companies the application of practices to reduce the levels of chemical additives in food products, as many food preservatives have harmful side effects, including carcinogenic activity (Moreira et al, 2005) This has led to the search of natural alternatives for food preservation, minimizing consumers’ health hazards (Souza et al, 2003).The study and assessment of antimicrobial activity in natural products, such as spices, have been stimulated with the aim of finding new options for the replacement of chemical preservatives to control the growth of foodborne pathogens (Coutinho et al, 2003)

Objectives

Methods

Results