Could essential oils of green and black pepper be used as food preservatives?

The growing intention to replace chemical food preservatives with plant-based antimicrobials that pose lower risks to human health has produced numerous studies describing the bactericidal properties of biopreservatives such as essential oils (EOs) in a variety of products, including cheese. This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis of literature data that could summarize the inactivation of Escherichia coli in cheese achieved by added EOs; and compare its inhibitory effectiveness by application method, antimicrobial concentration, and specific antimicrobials. After a systematic review, 362 observations on log reduction data and study characteristics were extracted from 16 studies. The meta-regression model suggested that pathogenic E. coli is more resistant to EO action than the non-pathogenic type (p < 0.0001), although in both cases the higher the EO dose, the greater the mean log reduction achieved (p < 0.0001). It also showed that, among the factual application methods, EOs’ incorporation in films render a steadier inactivation (p < 0.0001) than when directly applied to milk or smeared on cheese surface. Lemon balm, sage, shallot, and anise EOs showed the best inhibitory outcomes against the pathogen. The model also revealed the inadequacy of inoculating antimicrobials in cheese purposely grated for performing challenge studies, as this non-realistic application overestimates (p < 0.0001) the inhibitory effects of EOs.

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Volatiles of Black Pepper Fruits (Piper nigrum L.)

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules24234244 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (23) ◽

pp. 4244 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Dosoky ◽

Satyal ◽

Barata ◽

da Silva ◽

Setzer

Keyword(s):

Essential Oils ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Coastal Region ◽

Hierarchical Cluster ◽

Black Pepper ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Piper Nigrum ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Geographical Regions

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is historically one of the most important spices and herbal medicines, and is now cultivated in tropical regions worldwide. The essential oil of black pepper fruits has shown a myriad of biological activities and is a commercially important commodity. In this work, five black pepper essential oils from eastern coastal region of Madagascar and six black pepper essential oils from the Amazon region of Brazil were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major components of the essential oils were α-pinene, sabinene, β-pinene, δ-3-carene, limonene, and β-caryophyllene. A comparison of the Madagascar and Brazilian essential oils with black pepper essential oils from various geographical regions reported in the literature was carried out. A hierarchical cluster analysis using the data obtained in this study and those reported in the literature revealed four clearly defined clusters based on the relative concentrations of the major components.

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Comparative Evaluation of Piper nigrum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Cymbopogon citratus and Juniperus communis L. Essential Oils of Different Origin as Functional Antimicrobials in Foods

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods9020141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 141 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Katarzyna Leja ◽

Małgorzata Majcher ◽

Wojciech Juzwa ◽

Katarzyna Czaczyk ◽

Marcin Komosa

Keyword(s):

Flow Cytometry ◽

Essential Oils ◽

Black Pepper ◽

Resistance Mechanisms ◽

Rosmarinus Officinalis ◽

Piper Nigrum ◽

Cymbopogon Citratus ◽

Bacteriostatic Effect ◽

Juniperus Communis ◽

Bacteria Growth

Essential oils can be used as preservatives in foods because of their ability to inhibit bacteria growth in low concentration, which does not influence on foods’ organoleptic properties and does not generate the resistance mechanisms in cells. The aim of that work was to compare the effectiveness of commercial oils from black pepper (Piper nigrum), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and juniper (Juniperus communis L.) with oils obtained in our laboratory. The typical cultivation method was supported by the flow cytometry to detect the cells of very low physiologic and metabolic activity. Our investigation demonstrated that both types of oils can effectively inhibit the growth of saprophytic bacteria P. orientalis. The oils distilled in our laboratory had a bacteriostatic effect at a lower concentration, which is important for application in the food industry. Flow cytometry analyzes and confirmed the thesis that essential oils do not have a germicidal effect on bacteria cells.

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Pre-storage application of some essential oils and food preservatives against black mould incidence of garlic cloves during storage

Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection ◽

10.1080/03235400701621933 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 42 (11) ◽

pp. 1059-1068 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

N. S. El-Mougy ◽

N. G. El-Gamal ◽

M. M. Abdel-Kader

Keyword(s):

Essential Oils ◽

Food Preservatives

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Antimicrobial effects of spices and herbs essential oils

Acta periodica technologica ◽

10.2298/apt0940195s ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 195-209 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Marija Skrinjar ◽

Nevena Nemet

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Activity ◽

Essential Oils ◽

Food Additives ◽

Inhibitory Effect ◽

Natural Food ◽

Garlic Mustard ◽

Salmonella Spp ◽

Food Preservatives ◽

Bacteria And Fungi ◽

Staphylococcus Spp

Spices and herbs have been used as food additives since ancient times, as flavouring agents but also as natural food preservatives. A number of spices shows antimicrobial activity against different types of microorganisms. This article gives a literature review of recent investigations considering antimicrobial activity of essential oils widely used spices and herbs, such as garlic, mustard, cinnamon, cumin, clove, bay, thyme, basil, oregano, pepper, ginger, sage, rosemary etc., against most common bacteria and fungi that contaminate food (Listeria spp., Staphylococcus spp., Salmonella spp., Escherichia spp., Pseudomonas spp., Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp. and many others). Antimicrobial activity depends on the type of spice or herb, type of food and microorganism, as well as on the chemical composition and content of extracts and essential oils. Summarizing results of different investigations, relative antimicrobial effectiveness can be made, and it shows that cinnamon, cloves and mustrad have very strong antimicrobial potential, cumin, oregano, sage, thyme and rosemary show medium inhibitory effect, and spices such as pepper and ginger have weak inhibitory effect.

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Comparative Analysis of Intracellular and in vitro Antioxidant Activities of Essential Oil From White and Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2021.680754 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Ying Wang ◽

Liang Wang ◽

Jin Tan ◽

Rong Li ◽

Zi-Tao Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Essential Oils ◽

Antioxidant Activities ◽

Cell Model ◽

Black Pepper ◽

Piper Nigrum ◽

Anti Cancer ◽

Total Antioxidant ◽

Therapeutic Tools ◽

Median Effective Concentration

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Pepper essential oils have potential immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, and anti-cancer activities. Pepper exhibits the potential to prevent or attenuate carcinogenesis as therapeutic tools. However, the related mechanism remains unelucidated.Aim of the Study: The present study aims to provide reasonable information for the explanation of the dissimilarity of the essential oils from white (WPEO) and black pepper (BPEO).Materials and Methods: WPEO, BPEO, and their single active component, as well as synthetic antioxidants, were compared by the cell model methods and chemical methods, including intracellular antioxidant activity (CAA), total antioxidant activities (TAA), superoxide radical (SR), hydroxyl radical (HR), DPPH radical (DR) scavenging activities and inhibition ability of lipoprotein lipid peroxidation (ILLP).Results: The median effective concentration (EC50) values (mg/mL) of the WPEO and BPEO of SR, HR, DR, and ILLP were 0.437 and 0.327, 0.486 and 0.204, 7.332 and 6.348, 0.688, and 0.624 mg/mL, respectively. The CAA units of WPEO and BPEO were 50.644 and 54.806, respectively. CAA, DR, and TAA of BPEO were significantly higher than those of WPEO (p < 0.05). The BPEO and WPEO can be differentiated as the former have higher correlations with 3-carene, α-pinene, β-pinene, and limonene while the latter has a higher caryophyllene correlation. The WPEO and BPEO show a good intracellular scavenging ability of reactive oxygen species in HeLa cells.Conclusion: Generally, pepper oil has stronger activities than single components, indicating that pepper is a broad-spectrum natural antioxidant.

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Use of Antimicrobial and Genotoxicity Potentiality for Evaluation of Essential Oils as Food Preservatives

The Open Biotechnology Journal ◽

10.2174/1874070700903010050 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 50-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Hend A. Hamedo ◽

Hala M. Abdelmigid

Keyword(s):

Essential Oils ◽

Vicia Faba ◽

Salmonella Enteritidis ◽

Antimicrobial Agents ◽

Chromosomal Abnormalities ◽

Food Product ◽

Natural Food ◽

Food Preservatives ◽

Plant Essential Oils ◽

High Doses

In this study, investigations were carried out to assess the efficiency of two plant essential oils; rosemary and oregano as natural food preservatives. The effect of the plant essential oils at concentrations of 0.1%, 0.5% and 1% was studied in the soft cheese against Salmonella enteritidis and Escherichia coli at fridge temprature over a 14-day period. The essential oils performed well in the inhibition of S. enteritidis and E. coli. It is concluded that selected plant essential oils can act as potent inhibitors of both microorganisms in a food product. At the same time, evaluation of their safety as food preservatives was undertaken via monitoring the genotoxic activity of the mentioned essential oils using Vicia faba test. Vicia faba roots were treated with the above concentrations for 3 hours. Results revealed cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of the applied doses. Mitotic index decreased significantly when compared to control. Chromosomal abnormalities and micronuclei were also observed and the effects were dose-dependent. Despite the efficient role of the studied oils as antimicrobial agents, their genotoxicity potential in eukaryotic cells made them unacceptable as food preservatives, particularly at high doses. Therefore, more research in the use of essential oils as food preservatives is needed.

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The Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activities of the Essential Oils from Three Aframomum Species from Cameroon, and Their Potential as Sources of (E)-(R)-Nerolidol

Natural Product Communications ◽

10.1177/1934578x1300800638 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 1934578X1300800 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sylvie Kwanga Nguikwie ◽

Maximilienne A. Nyegue ◽

Florentine Ndoye-Foe Belinga ◽

Rosalie A. Ngono Ngane ◽

Bernard Romestand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Essential Oils ◽

Micrococcus Luteus ◽

Antibacterial Activities ◽

Natural Food ◽

Seed Oils ◽

Caryophyllene Oxide ◽

Traditional Use ◽

Food Preservatives ◽

E Coli ◽

Pure Compounds

Essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of seeds, pericarps, leaves and rhizomes of Aframomum dalzielii, A letestuianum and A. pruinosum grown in Cameroon were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The seed oils of the three species were characterized by a high content of ( E)-( R)-nerolidol (>88.0 %), which was fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy and chiral GC analysis. The main constituents of the pericarp and rhizome oils were monoterpene hydrocarbons, mainly β-pinene (0.8%–22.9%) and sabinene (29.0%–42.3%), along with 1,8-cineole (4.5%–23.7%); leaf oils were characterized by sesquiterpenes, namely ( E)-β-caryophyllene (18.4%–82.4%) and caryophyllene oxide (4.5%–23.7%). The antibacterial activities of these essential oils and of nine pure compounds (sabinene, β-pinene, 1,8-cineole, linalool, racemic ( E)-nerolidol, ( E)-( R)-nerolidol, ( E)-β-caryophyllene, α-humulene and caryophyllene oxide) were assessed against Micrococcus luteus and Escherichia coli. The strongest activities were observed against E. coli. The seed essential oils and their major component, ( E)-( R)-nerolidol, exhibited the lowest MIC values (0.19-0.39 μL/mL), justifying their traditional use and their potential application as natural food preservatives.

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