Atividade antibacteriana de óleos essenciais frente a bactérias patogênicas

Abstract

Contamination of food with pathogenic microorganisms is one of the main causes of Foodborne Diseases (FADs), causing a major impact on public health and the world economy. The food industry, in an attempt to combat these microorganisms and guarantee the microbiological safety of its products, uses non-natural synthetic products in small concentrations, however, these products can cause harm to humans. Essential oils have been recommended as alternatives and can be used as substitutes for non-natural food additives, as they do not cause harm to the consumer's health. Therefore, this work aimed to evaluate the antibacterial effect of the essential oils of Cinnamomum cassia (cinnamon), Eugenia Caryophyllus (clove) and Cymbopogon flexuosus (lemon grass) in vitro against Salmonella, Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The composition of the essential oils was determined by gas chromatography and the antibacterial activity was evaluated through the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (CBM) using the broth microdilution technique. The essential oil Eugênia caryophillus presented an MIC between 1000 - 2000 μL and eugenol as the major compound, Cinnamomum cassia presented an MIC between 250 - 1000 μL and cinnamaldehyde as the major compound, while Cymbopogon flexuosus presented an MIC of 1000 - 2000 μL and geranial and neral as the majority compound, except for Salmonella, as it did not show inhibition at any of the concentrations tested. Therefore, the oils demonstrated medium to high efficiency against the three bacteria studied.