Antimicrobial Activity of Some Plant Essential Oils Compared with Propolis

EL- Refai, A. A.; EL-Dahshan, Amalika D.; Abou-Taleb, M.; Anees, Fify R.

doi:10.21608/jfds.2016.46016

Antimicrobial Activity of Some Plant Essential Oils Compared with Propolis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Food Industries Dept., Fac. of Agric., Mansoura Univ., Egypt.

² Fish Processing and Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Academy of Scientific Research, Cairo, Egypt.

10.21608/jfds.2016.46016

Abstract

Antimicrobial activity of some plant essential oils namely, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), ginger (Zinger officinale Roscoe), red pepper (Capsicum annum L.), marjoram (Origanum marjorana L.) oils and propolis were studied. About 24 different phenolic compounds were identified by HPLC which have the ability to act as antimicrobial agents. Results indicated that all examined oils and propolis were varied in their content of phenolic compounds. These oils and propolis were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against four pathogenic bacteria strains (Staph aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella sp and E. coli), two strains of fungi (A. flavus and A. niger) and yeast strain (Rhodotorula sp.). Results indicated that marjoram oil had inhibitory effect against all tested strains of bacteria, fungi and yeast. Ginger and rosemary oils affected strains ofSalmonella sp and Listeria monocytogenes. Also, propolis had inhibitory effect against all tested strains of bacteria, fungi and yeast. In contrast, the red pepper essential oil showed no inhibition effect against any tested strain. Obtained results suggest the possibility to use the studied plant oils and propolis to control pathogens for food preservation.

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