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Glossary |
Basil & Thyme Essential Oils Combat
Food-borne Bacteria
FoodNavigator.com
1-28-4
- The antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant
and anti-carcinogenic properties attibuted to essential oils can
be used as natural additives in a range of foods. New research
into basil and thyme essential oils reveals their ability to curb
Shigella, a harmful food-borne bacteria.
-
- Previous research has shown that thyme and
basil have antimicrobial potential. Building on this research,
scientists at Ghent university in Belgium opted to investigate the
antimicrobial impact of thyme and basil essential oil and their
major constituents towards Shigella.
-
- According to the researchers who published
their findings in the February issue of Food Microbiology, thyme
essential oil and its major constituents thymol and carvacrol
decontaminated Shigella inoculated lettuce.
-
- They also found that thyme and basil
essential oil, and their major compounds thymol, estragol,
carvacrol, linalool and p-cymene, inhibited Shigella in an agar
diffusion method.
-
- The researchers determined the
antimicrobial effect of basil and thyme essential oil and its
major constituents thymol, p-cymene, estragol, linalool, and
carvacrol by using an agar well diffusion assay.
-
- Thyme essential oil, thymol and carvacrol
showed inhibition of Shigella sp. in the agar diffusion method.
The potential of thyme essential oil, thymol and carvacrol at 0.5
per cent and 1 per cent v/v for decontamination of lettuce was
evaluated.
-
- According to the findings, the researchers
noted a decrease of the shigellae after washing with 0.5 per cent
while at 1 per cent Shigella numbers dropped below the detection
limit. The antimicrobial effect on a subsequent lettuce sample in
the same decontamination solution was significantly decreased. In
addition, application of thyme essential oil or thymol or
carvacrol for decontamination is hampered by sensoric properties
of the lettuce (browning, strong odour), note the researchers.
-
- "In this study, it was shown that essential
oils and their compounds have potential to be used for
decontamination of minimally processed vegetables," write the
authors of the paper.
-
- More research into the use of essential
oils as food preservatives is needed, concluded the scientists.
-
- Used since antiquity for their
antimicrobial potential, herbs and spices have played a role in
food protection for thousands of years.
-
- According to the researchers, in recent
years, two consumer-driven demands have arisen in the food
industry. The first is the provision of fresh, natural foods
requiring minimal preparation and the second is the control of
food safety. But only a few studies have evaluated the potential
role of essential oils and their components as food preservatives.
-
- With the natural trend still on a steep,
upward curve, the recent findings from Belgium suggest that the
food industry should start to invest more time and money into
discovering the full potential essential oils could play in food
preservation.
-
- Full findings are published in the February
issue (Volume 21, Issue 1, February 2004, Pages 33-42) of Food
Microbiology.
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