In collaboration with Scientific Association of Iranian Medicinal Plants

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Food Hygiene and Aquatics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran,

2 Veterinary Medicine Graduate Student, Department of Food Hygiene and Aquatics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Listeria monocytogenes is an important food-borne pathogen and its control in foods is a significant challenge. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Mentha spicata essential oil on limitingL. monocytogenes growth at different temperatures (4, 9 and 14°C), pH (5, 6 and 7) and NaCl concentrations (0, 1, 2 and 4 g/100mL). Chemical constituents of the M. spicata essential oil were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The susceptibility of bacterium was performed by the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) using the micro-broth dilution technique. The major detected components were carvone (78.76%), limonene (11.50%) and menthol (1%). The MIC value of essential oil was 160µl/mL. The results obtained showed that the effectiveness of M. spicata was pronounced by increasing of salt and temperature and decreasing pH. In conclusion, the encouraging results indicated that the essential oil of M. spicata might be exploited as natural preservative for the control of L. monocytogenes.

Keywords

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