Abstract
During the last decades, essential oils (EOs) have been proven to be a natural alternative to additives or pasteurization for the prevention of microbial spoilage in several food matrices. In this work, we tested the antimicrobial activity of EOs from Melissa officinalis, Ocimum basilicum, and Thymus vulgaris against three different microorganisms: Escherichia coli, Clostridium tyrobutyricum, and Penicillium verrucosum. Pressed ewes’ cheese made from milk fortified with EOs (250 mg/kg) was used as a model. The carryover effect of each oil was studied by analyzing the volatile fraction of dairy samples along the cheese-making process using headspace stir bar sorptive extraction coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results showed that the EOs contained in T. vulgaris effectively reduced the counts of C. tyrobutyricum and inhibited completely the growth of P. verrucosum without affecting the natural flora present in the cheese. By contrast, the inhibitory effect of M. officinalis against lactic acid bacteria starter cultures rendered this oil unsuitable for this matrix.
Highlights
The cheese microbiota has an important role in the development of cheese flavor and texture.By contrast, exogenous microorganisms can have a negative impact on the organoleptic properties of cheese, with the potential for great economic loss
essential oils (EOs) aromatic plants are a complex mixture of volatile oils of low molecular weight that are obtained by steam distillation [37]
The total number of compounds identified in the EOs ranged from 14 in O. basilicum to 27 in T. vulgaris (Table 1), and they constituted over 87% of the total area composition
Summary
The cheese microbiota has an important role in the development of cheese flavor and texture.By contrast, exogenous microorganisms can have a negative impact on the organoleptic properties of cheese, with the potential for great economic loss. Late cheese blowing is quite frequent in semi-hard and hard cheeses, including Grana Padano, Cheddar, and Manchego [7,8,9,10], and is characterized by the presence of numerous and irregular internal holes produced by CO2 released from lactate metabolism [7,11]. In this context, C. tyrobutyricum is considered as a main spoiler agent markedly affecting the volatile profiles of cheese [12]
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