Characterization of Primary Action Mode of Eight Essential Oils and Evaluation of Their Antibacterial Effect against Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL)-Producing Inoculated in Turkey Meat.

The current study aims to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of eight essential oils (EOs) against multidrug-resistant strains, producing extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) enzymes and isolated from foods. Disc-diffusion assay showed that the inhibition diameters generated by EOs varied significantly among the tested EOs and strains. In fact, EOs extracted from , , and exerted an important antimicrobial effect against tested strains, with the diameters of inhibition zones varied between 20 and 27 mm. Moreover, minimal inhibition and bactericidal concentration (MIC and MBC) values demonstrated that EOs generate the most important inhibitory effect against strains, with MIC values ranging from 0.02 to 0.78%. Concerning the mode of action of EO, the obtained data showed that treatment with this EO at its MIC reduced the viability of strains, their tolerance to NaCl and promoted the loss of 260-nm-absorbing material. In addition, in the presence of EO, cells became disproportionately sensitive to subsequent autolysis. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of was evaluated against two strains, experimentally inoculated (10 CFU/g) in minced turkey meat, in the presence of two different concentrations of EO (MIC and 2 × MIC), and stored for 15 days. In both samples, EO exerted a bacteriostatic effect in the presence of concentrations equal to MIC. Interestingly, at 2 × CMI concentration, the bactericidal activity was pronounced after 15 days of storage. Our results highlighted that the use of essential oils, specially of , to inhibit or prevent the growth of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing in food, may be a promising alternative to chemicals.