In vitro antimicrobial properties of plant essential oils thymus vulgaris, cymbopogon citratus and laurus nobilis against five important foodborne pathogens

Several essential oils of condiment and medicinal plants possess proven antimicrobial activity and are of important interest for the food industry. Therefore, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of those oils should be determined for various bacteria. MIC varies according to the oil used, the major compounds, and the physiology of the bacterium under study. In the present study, the essential oils of the plants Thymus vulgaris (time), Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) and Laurus nobilis (bay) were chemically quantified, and the MIC was determined on the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19117, Salmonella enterica Enteritidis S64, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. The essential oil of C. citratus demonstrated bacterial activity at all concentrations tested and against all of the bacteria tested. The majority of essential oil compounds were geranial and neral. The major constituent of T. vulgaris was 1.8-cineol and of L. nobilis was linalool, which presented lower antibacterial activity, followed by 1.8-cineol. The Gram-negative bacteria demonstrated higher resistance to the use of the essential oils tested in this study. E. coli was the least sensitive and was inhibited only by the oils of C. citratus and L. nobilis.

Green and brown propolis: efficient natural biocides for the control of bacterial contamination of alcoholic fermentation of distilled beverage

This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of natural biocides, brown and green propolis, for the control of bacterial contamination in the production of sugarcane spirit. The treatments consisted of brown and green propolis extracts, ampicillin, and a control and were assessed at the beginning and end of harvest season in ten fermentation cycles. In the microbiological analyses, the lactic acid bacteria were quantified in the inoculum before and after the treatment with biocides, and the viability of yeast cells during fermentation was evaluated. The levels of acids, glycerol, total residual reducing sugars, and ethanol were analyzed for the wine resulting from each fermentation cycle. A reduction in the number of bacterial contaminants in the inoculum in the treatments with the natural biocides was observed, but it did not affect the viability of yeast cells. The control of the contaminants led to the production of higher levels of ethanol and reduced acidity in the wine produced. The results of the use of brown and green propolis to control the growth microorganisms in the fermentation of sugarcane spirit can be of great importance for using alternative strategies to synthetic antibacterials in fermentation processes including other distilled beverage or spirits.