Antimicrobial activities of six essential oils commonly used as condiments in Brazil against clostridium perfringens

Abstract

Despite recent advances in food production technology, food-borne diseases (FBD) remaina challenging public health concern. In several countries, including Brazil, Clostridium per-fringens is among the five main causative agents of food-borne diseases. The present studydetermines antimicrobial activities of essential oils of six condiments commonly used inBrazil, viz., Ocimum basilicum L. (basil), Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary), Origanum majoranaL. (marjoram), Mentha × piperita L. var. Piperita (peppermint), Thymus vulgaris L. (thyme) andPimpinella anisum L. (anise) against C. perfringens strain A. Chemical compositions of the oilswere determined by GC–MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry). The identities of theisolated compounds were established from the respective Kováts indices, and a compari-son of mass spectral data was made with those reported earlier. The antibacterial activitywas assessed from minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidalconcentration (MBC) using the microdilution method. Minimum inhibitory concentrationvalues were 1.25 mg mL−1for thyme, 5.0 mg mL−1for basil and marjoram, and 10 mg mL−1for rosemary, peppermint and anise. All oils showed bactericidal activity at their minimuminhibitory concentration, except anise oil, which was only bacteriostatic. The use of essen-tial oils from these common spices might serve as an alternative to the use of chemicalpreservatives in the control and inactivation of pathogens in commercially produced food systems.