Essential oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L. as natural sanitizer for controlling the sessile bacteria and as antimicrobial on the food-cutting surfaces

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) by using broth macro-dilution method in essential oil (EO) of Rosmarinus officinalis L. on the standard strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Choleraesuis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antibacterial activity of EO solutions on these bacteria adhered to the polypropylene surface used for cutting food was also evaluated, after 12 h at 37 °C under shaking on. The sanitizers EO solutions were formulated based on MBC findings, separately for each bacterial strain. The sanitizing action of the solutions on the bacterial cells-adhered surface was evaluated after being contacted for 20 and 40 min. For E. coli, S. Choleraesuis and P. aeruginosa, the contact for 20 min was sufficient for inducing complete elimination of adhered cells, and S. aureus populations were significantly reduced at both evaluated periods of time. The EO of R. officinalis may represent as natural alternative form to carry out the pathogenic and contaminants bacteria control in food industry.