Antibacterial Potential of Essential Oils Against Ground Beef Isolates

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of different EOs against Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and coagulase-positive staphylococcus isolated from ground beef. The EOs had values varying from 0.78μl/mL to 100μl/mL, and the essential oil of Citrus lemon did not present any bacterial activity against the studied strains. For E. coli, the essential oil of Cinnamomum zeylanicum presented the best inhibitory activity (MIC = 0.78μl/mL to 1.56μl/mL). In Salmonella spp., the EOs of Cymbopogon citratus (MIC = 12.5μl/mL and 25.0μl/mL), C. zeylanicum (MIC = 25.0 µL/mL) and Ocimum basilicum (MIC = 6.25μl/mL, 12.5μl/mL and 50.0μl/mL) exhibited similar results. The EOs of C. zeylanicum and Eugenia caryophyllata demonstrated the lowest average values of study against coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (MIC = 3.12μl/mL, 6.25μl/mL and 12.5μl/mL). With the data obtained in the study, it can be observed the potential of EOs in the control of pathogenic food microorganisms, as well as validate future researches on the proprieties and active compounds of these products, besides the toxicity of these compounds and the possible alterations that can be caused on the food.