We investigated the inhibitory activity of commercially marketed essential oils of mint, rosemary, orange, sage, cinnamon, bay, clove, and cumin against Arcobacter butzleri and Arcobacter skirrowii and the effects of the essential oil of rosemary against A. butzleri in a cooked minced beef system. Using the disc diffusion method to determine the inhibitory activities of these plant essential oils against strains of Arcobacter, we found that those of rosemary, bay, cinnamon, and clove had strong inhibitory activity against these organisms, whereas the essential oils of cumin, mint, and sage failed to show inhibitory activity against most of the Arcobacter strains tested. The 0.5% (vol/wt) essential oil of rosemary was completely inhibitory against A. butzleri in the cooked minced beef system at 4°C. These essential oils may be further investigated as a natural solution to the food industry by creating an additional barrier (hurdle technology) to inhibit the growth of Arcobacter strains.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
PhillipsCA. Arcobacter spp in food: isolation, identification and control. Trends Food Sci Technol, 2001; 12:263–275.
2.
HoHTK, LipmanLJA, GaastraW. Arcobacter, what is known and unknown about a potential foodborne zoonotic agent. Vet Microbiol, 2006; 115:1–13.
3.
HoufK. Arcobacter in a food safety perspective. Arch Lebensmitt, 2009; 60:73–76.
4.
ColladoL, InzaI, GuarroJ, FiguerasMJ. Presence of Arcobacter spp. in environmental waters correlates with high levels of fecal pollution. Environ Microbiol, 2008; 10:1635–1640.
5.
FisherK, PhillipsCA. The effect of lemon, orange and bergamot essential oils and their components on the survival of Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus in vitro and in food systems. J Appl Microbiol, 2006; 101:1232–1240.
6.
VintigniSM, SrijanA, WongstitwilairoongB, MarcusR, MeekJ, RileyPL, MasonC. Prevalence of foodborne microorganisms in retail foods in Thailand. Foodborne Pathog Dis, 2007; 4:208–215.
7.
IrkinR, KorukluogluM. Growth inhibition of pathogenic bacteria and some yeasts by selected essential oils and survival of L. monocytogenes and C. albicans in apple–carrot juice. Foodborne Pathogens Dis, 2009; 6:387–394.
8.
IrkinR, KorukluogluM. Effectiveness of Cymbopogon citratus L. essential oil to inhibit the growth of some filamentous fungi and yeasts. J Med Food, 2009; 12:193–197.
BurtS. Essential oils: their antibacterial properties and potential applications in foods—a review. Int J Food Microbiol, 2004; 94:223–253.
11.
FisherK, PhillipsC. Potential antimicrobial uses of essential oils in food: Is citrus the answer?Trends Food Sci Technol, 2008; 19:156–164.
12.
AydinF, GumussoyKS, AtabayHI, IcaT, AbayS. Prevalence and distribution of Arcobacter species in various sources in Turkey and molecular analysis of isolated strains by ERIC-PCR. J Appl Microbiol, 2007; 103:27–35.
13.
Association of Official Agricultural Chemists: Determination of fat contentMethod 24.007Official Methods of Analysis. Meat and Meat Products, 2HorwitzW15th. Washington, DC, 1980; 1446.
14.
ISO/1442: Meat and Meat Products. The Determination of Moisture Content Guidelines. International Organization for Standardization: Geneva, 1973.
15.
OzdamarK. Statistical Data Analysis with Pocket Programmes, 5th. Kaan Publications: Eskisehir, Turkey, 2004.
16.
AtabayHI, AydinF. Susceptibility of Arcobacter butzleri isolates to 23 antimicrobial agents. Lett Appl Microbiol, 2001; 33:430–433.
17.
CervenkaL, PeskovaI, FoltynovaE, PejchalovaM, BrozkovaI, VytrasovaJ. Inhibitory effects of some spice and herb extracts against. Arcobacter butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, and A. skirrowii. Curr Microbiol, 2006; 53:435–439.
18.
Fernandez-LopezJ, ZhiN, Aleson-CarbonellL, Perez-AlvarezJA, KuriV. Antioxidant and antibacterial activities of natural extracts: application in beef meatballs. Meat Sci, 2005; 69:371–380.
19.
GoniP, LopezP, SanchezR, Gomez-LusR, BecerrilR, NerinC. Antimicrobial activity in the vapour phase of a combination of cinnamon and clove essential oils. Food Chem, 2009; 116:982–989.
20.
ChaiebK, HajlaouiH, ZmantarT, Kahla-NakbiAM, RouabhiaM, MahdouaniK, BakhroufA. The chemical composition and biological activity of clove essential oil, Eugenia caryophyllata (Syzigium aromaticum L. Myrtaceae): a short review. Phytother Res, 2007; 21:501–506.
21.
SimicA, SokovicMD, RisticM, Grujic-JovanovicS, VukojevicJ, MarinPD. The chemical composition of some Lauraceae essential oils and their antifungal activities. Phytother Res, 2004; 18:713–717.
22.
FisherK, RoweC, PhillipsCA. The survival of three strains of Arcobacter butzleri in the presence of lemon, orange and bergamot essential oils and their components in vitro and on food. Lett Appl Microbiol, 2007; 44:495–499.
23.
SinghG, MarimuthuP, MuraliHS, BawaAS. Antioxidative and antibacterial potentials of essential oils and extracts isolated from various spice materials. J Food Safety, 2005; 25:130–145.
Smith-PalmerA, StewartJ, FyfeL. Antimicrobial properties of plant essential oils and essences against five important food-borne pathogens. Lett Appl Microbiol, 1998; 26:118–122.
26.
ValeroM, FrancesE. Synergistic bactericidal effect of carvacrol, cinnamaldehyde or thymol and refrigeration to inhibit Bacillus cereus in carrot broth. Food Microbiol, 2006; 23:68–73.
27.
TullioV, NostroA, MandrasN, DugoP, BancheG, CannatelliMA. Antifungal activity of essential oils against filamentous fungi determined by broth microdilution and vapour contact methods. J Appl Microbiol, 2007; 102:1544–1550.
28.
MenakerA, KravetsM, KoelM, OravA. Identification and characterization of supercritical fluid extracts from herbs. C R Chimie, 2004; 7:629–633.
29.
LeeJ-W, ParkK-S, KimJ-G, OhS-H, LeeY-S, KimJ-H, ByunM-W. Combined effects of gamma irradiation and rosemary extract on the shelf-life of a ready-to-eat hamburger steak. Radiat Phys Chem, 2005; 72:49–56.
30.
DjenaneD, Sanchez-EscalanteA, BeltranJA, RoncalesP. Ability of α-tocopherol, taurine and rosemary, in combination with vitamin C, to increase the oxidative stability of beef steaks packaged in modified atmosphere. Food Chem, 2002; 76:407–415.
31.
DjenaneD, Sanchez-EscalanteA, BeltranJA, RoncalesP. Extension of the shelf life of beef steaks packaged in a modified atmosphere by treatment with rosemary and displayed under UV-free lighting. Meat Sci, 2003; 64:417–426.
