Abstract
Essential oils are highly complex volatile chemical compounds utilized for food preservation. The present study compares the antibacterial, and antibiofilm activities of essential oils (EOs) and their blends. Three EOs—basil, clove, and lemongrass—and their blends were evaluated against five food-borne bacterial pathogens. A concentration-dependent effect with maximum inhibition at minimum inhibitory concentration values was recorded while no synergistic activity was observed on blending of EOs. The mechanism of antibacterial action was identified as ROS burst, leakage of cytoplasmic content, and DNA degradation through fluorescence microscopy, electrical conductivity, and DNA cleavage studies. The role of EOs on biofilm growth was deciphered with lemongrass EO being most effective as it curbed biofilm formation on the surface of corn-starch packaging films. This work highlights the antibacterial action mechanism of EOs and their potential role in curtailing biofilm growth on food-grade packaging material.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the DST Women scientist scheme (WOS-A) for providing financial support. We are also thankful to Microbial type culture collection (MTCC), Chandigarh for providing the microbial cultures.
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This research was funded by DST (Department of Science and Technology) Women scientist scheme-A (WOS reference no. DST/WOS-A/LS-1/2020).
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Conceptualization: Anu Kalia and Shivani Sharma., methodology: Anu Kalia, Shivani Sharma and Manpreet Kaur, formal analysis: Manpreet Kaur and Anu Kalia, investigation: Manpreet Kaur and Anu Kalia, resources: Anu Kalia, Shivani Sharma and Nitika Sandhu, data curation: Anu Kalia and Manpreet Kaur, writing—original draft preparation: Manpreet Kaur, Anu Kalia, writing—review and editing: Anu Kalia, Shivani Sharma and Manpreet Kaur, supervision- Anu Kalia, Shivani Sharma and Nitika Sandhu All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Kaur, M., Sharma, S., Kalia, A. et al. Essential oils and their blends: mechanism of antibacterial activity and antibiofilm potential on food-grade maize starch packaging films. Int Microbiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-024-00514-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10123-024-00514-w