Antimicrobial properties of some essential oils against some pathogenic microorganisms

Abstract

Investigations were carried out to assess the efficiency of five plant essential oils: thyme, myrtle, laurel, sage, and orange oils as natural food preservatives. The effect of the plant essential oils against <i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Candida albicans</i> at concentrations of 5–20 µl/disk (diameter 6 mm) and 0.5–3% (v/v) was studied in agar diffusion test medium and milk medium. The essential oils of these extracts exhibited markedly antibacterial and bacteriostatic activity, with thyme showing the highest inhibition and orange the lowest. However, with thyme extract, high inhibitory activity was observed for all tested concentrations, <i>L. monocytogenes</i> showed less sensitivity towards essential oil extracts.