García-Díez Juan, Alheiro Joana, Pinto Ana Luisa, Falco Virgilio, Fraqueza Maria João, Patarata Luis
Nat Prod Commun. 2017 Feb;12(2):281-286.
Essential oils (EOs) could be utilized as natural agents to improve the safety of meat products. However, the high concentration required to achieve an antimicrobial effect in foods might be incompatible with their sensory acceptance. To avoid this problem, combinations of EOs provide an effective approach reducing the odds of sensory rejection. In our study, 13 EOs of herbs and spices commonly used in the seasoning of meat products were assessed for their antimicrobial activity against Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. However, only 7 of them were selected to study their synergistic effect based on their antimicrobial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against foodborne pathogens. EOs of thyme and cinnamon presented the largest antibacterial activity against foodborne pathogens. Combinations of selected EOs displayed a synergic effect against foodborne pathogens and also an important decrease in their individual MIC. Thyme EO presented the lowest individual MIC, but its utilization in combination decreased the MIC of the other EOs. Utilization of cinnamon EO also improved the reduction of the individual MICs of the EOs of cumin and parsley. Our results suggest the potential use of EO mixtures to control foodborne pathogens in meat products. Although the individual MIC values of selected EOs decreased, the sensory impact on meat products needs to be assessed.
香精油（EOs）可用作天然制剂以提高肉类产品的安全性。然而，在食品中实现抗菌效果所需的高浓度可能与其感官接受度不相容。为避免此问题，香精油组合提供了一种有效方法，可降低感官拒斥的几率。在我们的研究中，评估了常用于肉类产品调味的13种药草和香料的香精油对沙门氏菌属、单核细胞增生李斯特菌、大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌的抗菌活性。然而，基于它们对食源性病原体的抗菌活性和最低抑菌浓度（MIC），仅选择其中7种来研究它们的协同作用。百里香和肉桂的香精油对食源性病原体表现出最大的抗菌活性。所选香精油的组合对食源性病原体显示出协同作用，并且它们各自的最低抑菌浓度也有显著降低。百里香香精油的个体最低抑菌浓度最低，但其组合使用降低了其他香精油的最低抑菌浓度。肉桂香精油的使用也提高了孜然和欧芹香精油个体最低抑菌浓度的降低幅度。我们的结果表明香精油混合物在控制肉类产品食源性病原体方面的潜在用途。尽管所选香精油的个体最低抑菌浓度值降低了，但仍需评估其对肉类产品的感官影响。
