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PERSPECTIVES ON THE USE OF ESSENTIAL OILS AS ANTIMICROBIALS AGAINST CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI CECT 7572 IN RETAIL CHICKEN MEATS PACKAGED IN MICROAEROBIC ATMOSPHERE
Author(s) -
DJENANE DJAMEL,
YANGÜELA JAVIER,
GÓMEZ DIEGO,
RONCALÉS PEDRO
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of food safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1745-4565
pISSN - 0149-6085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4565.2011.00342.x
Subject(s) - food science , tbars , carvacrol , campylobacter jejuni , satureja , chemistry , preservative , lipid oxidation , thiobarbituric acid , antimicrobial , essential oil , laurus nobilis , biology , bacteria , antioxidant , lipid peroxidation , biochemistry , organic chemistry , genetics
The chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs) of Inula graveolens , Laurus nobilis , Pistacia lentiscus and Satureja montana was analyzed using a gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry technique. The main components of EOs obtained were, respectively, bornyl acetate, 1,8‐cineole, β‐myrcene and carvacrol. EOs were screened for their ability to inhibit the growth of Campylobacter jejuni CECT 7572 using the standard agar‐disk diffusion assay. The results obtained, followed by measurements of minimal inhibitory concentrations, indicated that I. graveolens was most active (Φ = 53.3 mm), with the lowest MIC value against C. jejuni (2 µL/mL). EOs were tested in chicken stored in microaerobic conditions at 3 ± 2C, experimentally inoculated with the pathogen at a level of 5 × 10 5 cfu/g. C. jejuni counts in treated samples were 0.7–4.7 log 10 cfu/g lower ( P < 0.05) than the controls throughout storage. The latter reached numbers of about 8 log 10 cfu/g after 1 week. Lipid oxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS]) and sensory freshness odor were also determined. Samples treated with any EO had the lowest TBARS values ( P < 0.05). The presence of EOs significantly extended fresh meat odor. The results of the bioassays, together with the chemical profile of the EOs, support the possibility of using all EOs as potent natural preservatives to contribute in the reduction of experimentally inoculated C. jejuni in chicken meat. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The results revealed for the first time in a chicken meat system the potential of I. graveolens, L. nobilis, P. lentiscus and S. montana EOs in inhibiting C. jejuni . This suggests the possibility that they, particularly I. graveolens , could be used as natural preservatives in chicken meat for reducing food hazards caused by this pathogen, which is now recognized as the leading cause of bacterial foodborne gastroenteritis.