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Synergistic antimicrobial activity of galangal ( Alpinia galanga ), rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis ) and lemon iron bark ( Eucalyptus staigerana ) extracts
Author(s) -
Weerakkody Nimsha S,
Caffin Nola,
Lambert Lynette K,
Turner Mark S,
Dykes Gary A
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.4206
Subject(s) - rosmarinus , antimicrobial , officinalis , camphor , chemistry , bark (sound) , traditional medicine , food science , essential oil , alpinia , carnosic acid , biology , biochemistry , antioxidant , organic chemistry , medicine , ecology
BACKGROUND: In this study the synergistic antimicrobial activities of combinations of extracts from galangal ( Alpinia galanga ), rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis ) and lemon iron bark ( Eucalyptus staigerana ) were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Clostridium perfringens . Chemical compositions of these extracts were also determined to provide further insight into antimicrobial constituents and their potential mechanisms of action. RESULTS: Combinations of galangal with either rosemary or lemon iron bark showed synergistic antimicrobial activity. Specifically, galangal and rosemary showed synergistic activity against S. aureus and L. monocytogenes only, while galangal and lemon iron bark showed synergistic activity against E. coli and S. typhimurium . Chemical compositions of the extracts were determined by gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric analysis. The major chemical components of the galangal and lemon iron bark extracts were 1′‐acetoxy‐chavicol acetate (1′ACA) (63.4%) and neral (15.6%), respectively, while 1,8‐cineole (26.3%) and camphor (20.3%) were identified as major chemical components of the rosemary extract. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that galangal, rosemary and lemon iron bark extracts contain components that may have different modes of antimicrobial action and combinations of these extracts may have potential as natural antimicrobials to preserve foods. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry