Preliminary studies on the antimicrobial activity of essential oils against food borne bacteria and toxigenic fungi

Alina Dobre; Valeria Gagiu; Petru Niculiță

Alina Dobre University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture
Valeria Gagiu National Institute of Research & Development for Food Bioresources
Petru Niculiță University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology Faculty

Keywords: essential oils, antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, agar disc diffusion method, vapour phase method

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of seven essential oils against four different bacterial and five fungal strains that are involved in food poisoning and/or food decay: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium culmorum, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus
brasiliensis, using two methods: agar disc diffusion method and disc volatilization method. The majority of the selected essential oils presented inhibitory activity against all the microorganisms tested but essential oils of oregano, thyme and clove proved to develop the best antibacterial and antifungal activity both in direct contact and volatilization method and could be used for further investigation in active packaging of food.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.