Milk preservation: Enhancing the anti-Staphylococcus aureuspotency using essential oils specific mixture

摘要

This study aims to calculate the optimal formula combiningSyzygium aromaticum, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Myrtus communis, andLavandula stoechasessential oils to enhance their anti-Staphylococcus aureuseffects. Firstly, a chemical analysis of essential oils (EOs) was assessed. Secondly, their antibacterial activities were screened against several bacterial strains with a special emphasis onS. aureusone. Finally, a specific mixture design plan was elaborated to determine the combination presenting the highest protection againstS. aureus. Thus, the complex simplex-centroid mixture design was adopted to build polynomial models detailing the relationship between the anti-S. aureusactivity and the proportion of each essential oil. Obtained results indicated compositional variabilities between studied samples. Indeed, the major compounds were camphor (35%), alpha-pinene (75%), cinnamaldehyde (89%) and eugenol (75%) for lavender, myrtle, cinnamon, and clove EOs, respectively. Additionally, the antibacterial activity test illustrated that all studied EOs were potent antimicrobial agents especially cinnamon and clove ones (from 15 to 39 mm inhibition zone). The search for the most effective combination for milk preservation againstS. aureussuggested that a mixture of 58.8% cinnamon, 34.4% clove,and 6.8% lavender presents the optimal efficiency (reduction to 1 +/- 0.1 x 10(6) CFU.ml(-1)). Thereby, this formula could be considered as a potential alternative for food safety againstS. aureuscontamination, particularly in milk and dairy industries.