Antibacterial activity of Turkish spice hydrosols

Food Control 14 (2003) 141–143 www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont

Antibacterial activity of Turkish spice hydrosols Osman Sa gdıcß a

€ zcan , Musa O

a,*

b

Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, S€uleyman Demirel University, 32260 Isparta, Turkey b Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Selcßuk University, 42031 Konya, Turkey Received 17 March 2002; received in revised form 17 June 2002; accepted 25 June 2002

Abstract The in vitro antibacterial activity of the hydrosols of (distilled spice water) sixteen spices (anise, basil, cumin, dalamagia sage, dill, fennel, laurel, mint, oregano, pickling herb, rosemary, sage, summer savory, seafennel, sumac and black thyme) were tested on fifteen bacteria (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ATCC 23842, B. brevis FMC 3, B. cereus FMC 19, B. subtilis var. niger ATCC 10, Enterobacter aerogenes CCM 2531, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, E. coli O157:H7 ATCC 33150, Klebsiella pneumoniae FMC 5, Proteus vulgaris FMC 1, Salmonella enteritidis, S. gallinarum, S. typhimurium, Staphlococcus aureus ATCC 2392, S. aureus ATCC 28213, Yersinia enterocolitica ATCC 1501). The hydrosols of five spices (anise, cumin, oregano, summer savory and black thyme) had antibacterial activity against some of the test bacteria. Oregano and summer savory were effective against all bacteria during incubation. Anise, cumin and black thyme hydrosols were active against some bacteria, but not all. Consequently, it is likely that some edible plant hydrosols may be used as antimicrobial agents to prevent the deterioration of food products. The other hydrosols did not show activity against any of the all bacteria tested. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Spice hydrosols; Antibacterial activity

1. Introduction Antimicrobial activities of various spices and derivatives have been reported by many workers (Deans & Svoboda, 1989; Dorman & Deans, 2000; Farag, Daw, Hewedi, & El-Baroty, 1989; Hammer, Carson, & Riley, 1999; Hsieh, Mau, & Huang, 2001; Kıvancß & Akg€ ul, € zcan & Boyraz, 2000; O € zcan & Erkmen, 2001).

1986; O The leafy part of plants such as sage, thyme, oregano and savory belonging to the Labiatae family have been added to meat, fish and food products for years. In addition to improving flavour, certain spices and essential oils prolong the storage life of foods by an antimicrobial activity. Being natural foodstuffs, they appeal to consumers who tend to question the safety of synthetic additives. It has been suggested that some synthetic chemicals convert some ingested materials into toxic substances or carcinogens by increasing the activity of microsomal enzymes (Farag et al., 1989). Also, some chemicals require caution in handling since they

are corrosive and their vapours can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract. On the contrary, herbs and their derivatives such as extracts and decoctions possessing antimicrobial activity might have beneficial effects, but cause no health problems to the handler and consumer (Deans & Svoboda, 1989; Farag et al., 1989; Kıvancß & € zcan & Erkmen, 2001).

Akg€ ul, 1986; O Recently, there has been considerable emphasis on studies involving essential oils, extracts and decoctions of spices on inhibiting the growth of microbes. But, there is a limited number of research on the inhibitory effect of spice hydrosols (distilled spice water). The objective of this study was to investigate the activity of hydrosols of anise, basil, cumin, dalamagia sage, dill, fennel, laurel, mint, oregano, pickling herb, rosemary, sage, summer savory, seafennel, sumac and black thyme on 15 bacteria (see Material and methods).

2. Material and methods 2.1. Plant spice samples

*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +90-246-2111542; fax: +90-2462370437.

E-mail address: osagdic@ziraat.sdu.edu.tr (O. Sa gdıcß).

The plant spices used were collected from plants grown in Turkey and dried at room temperature. Plants

0956-7135/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

PII: S 0 9 5 6 - 7 1 3 5 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 5 7 - 9

€ zcan / Food Control 14 (2003) 141–143 O. Sa gdıcß, M. O

142

Table 1 Plant spice materials from which hydrosols were obtained Plant name

Botanical name

Family

Part used

1. Anise 2. Basil 3. Cumin 4. Dalamagia sage 5. Dill 6. Fennel 7. Laurel 8. Mint 9. Oregano 10. Pickling herb 11. Rosemary 12. Sage 13. Summer savory 14. Seafennel 15. Sumac 16. Black thyme

Pimpinella anisum L. Ocimum basilicum L. Cuminum cyminum L. Salvia fruticosa Mill.

Anethum graveolens L. Foeniculum dulce Mill.

Laurus nobilis L. Mentha spicata L. Origanum vulgare L. Echinophora tenuifolia L. Rosmarius officialis L. Salvia aucheri L. Satureja hortensis L. Crithmum martimum L. Rhus coriaria L. Thymbra spicata L.

Umbelliferae Labiatae Umbelliferae Labiatae Umbelliferae Umbelliferae Lauraceae Labiatae Labiatae Umbelliferae Labiatae Labiatae Labiatae Umbelliferae Anacardiaceae Labiatae

Fruits Leaves Fruits Leaves Fruits Fruits Leaves Leaves þ flower Leaves þ flower Leaves Leaves Leaves Leaves Leaves þ stem Fruits Leaves þ flower

were identified botanically at the Biology Department of Selcßuk University. The commercial and scientific names of the spices which used in the study tested are given in Table 1.

2.2. Bacterial cultures The fifteen bacteria used as test organisms were as follows: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ATCC 23842, B. brevis FMC 3, B. cereus FMC 19, B. subtilis var. niger ATCC 10, Enterobacter aerogenes CCM 2531, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, E. coli O157:H7 ATCC 33150, Klebsiella pneumoniae FMC 5, Proteus vulgaris FMC 1, Salmonella enteritidis, S. gallinarum, S. typhimurium, Staphlococcus aureus ATCC 2392, S. aureus ATCC 28213, Yersinia enterocolitica ATCC 1501. They were provided by the Department of Food Engineering, S€ uleyman Demirel University, Isparta-Turkey.

2.3. Preparation of spice hydrosols A 50 g sample of each spice was ground in an omnimixer. The hydrosols of each ground spice were obtained after 1 h in a hydrodistillation apparatus with 500 ml water (1:10 w/v). Then, the oil was removed by separation funnels. Hydrosols were kept in sterile bottles (500 ml) under refrigerated conditions until use.

2.4. Determination of antibacterial effect Stock cultures of B. amyloliquefaciens ATCC 23842, B. brevis FMC 3, P. vulgaris FMC 1 and Y. enterocolitica ATCC 1501 were grown in nutrient broth (Acumedia Manufacturers, Inc., Maryland) at 25 °C for 22 h.

The other bacteria were grown in the same medium at 35 °C for 22 h (Ilcßim, Dı grak, & Ba gcı, 1998). Final cell concentrations were 106 –107 cfu/ml. 1 ml of this inoculum was added to each plate containing nutrient agar

(Acumedia Manufacturers, Inc., Maryland). The hydrosols were added at a concentration of 50 ll for 5 mm diameter filter paper disc. Water was added at a concentration of 50 ll/disc to provide a negative control.

The soaked discs were put in the middle of plates which were incubated at 25 °C for 18–24 h for B. amyloliquefaciens ATCC 3842, B. brevis FMC 3, P. vulgaris FMC 1 and Y. enterocolitica ATCC 1501. The other bacteria were grown in the same media at 35 °C for 18–24 h (Aureli, Costantini, & Zolea, 1992; Kar & Jain, 1971; Kelmanson, J€ager, & van Staden, 2000; Samy & Ignacimuthu, 2000).

3. Results and discussion The hydrosols, having antibacterial effect, against tested bacteria were shown in Table 2. The water (control) was ineffective.

The hydrosols exerted varying levels of antimicrobial effects against microorganisms. Hydrosols of basil, dalamagia sage, dill, fennel, laurel, mint, pickling herb, rosemary, sage, seafennel and sumac were ineffective.

Anise, cumin and black thyme hydrosols were only active against two, three and nine bacteria, respectively.

On the other hand, oregano and summer savory hydrosols were active against all bacteria.

Comparison of the sensitivity of the bacteria to oregano hydrosols showed the highest inhibitive effect against B. amyloliquefaciens and S. aureus ATCC 2392 and a weaker activity against B. cereus and S. gallinarum. Summer savory hydrosol showed the highest antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus ATCC 2392. It exhibited a low activity against E. coli 0157:H7.

While black thyme was effective against most of the microorganisms tested, it did not inhibit on B. subtilis var. niger, E. aerogenes, E. coli 0157:H7, K. pneumoniae, S. typhimurium or S. aureus ATCC 2392.

€ zcan / Food Control 14 (2003) 141–143 O. Sa gdıcß, M. O

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Table 2 Inhibition effects of plant spice hydrosols, having antibacterial activity, against the test bacteria Test bacteria

Diameter of the zones of inhibition in mm (5 mm disc) Anise

Cumin

Oregano

Summer savory

Black thyme

B. amyloliquefaciens ATCC 3842 B. brevis FMC 3 B. cereus FMC 19 B. subtilis var. niger ATCC 10 E. aerogenes CCM 2531 E. coli ATCC 25922 E. coli O157:H7 ATCC 33150 K. pneumoniae FMC 5 P. vulgaris FMC 1 S. enteritidis S. gallinarum S. typhimurium S. aureus ATCC 2392 S. aureus ATCC 28213 Y. enterocolitica ATCC 1501

– – – – – 9 – – – – – – – 12 –

– 14 – – 26 – 19 – – – – – – – –

27 15 14 20 14 16 19 20 19 15 14 20 33 15 16

14 15 15 14 16 18 10 16 16 17 16 15 18 16 17

12 16 15 – – 13 – – 14 14 14 – – 10 13

–: No inhibition.

Several studies have been conducted on the antimicrobial properties of herbs, spices and their derivatives such as essential oils, extracts and decoctions (Deans & Svoboda, 1989; Dorman & Deans, 2000; Farag et al., 1989; Hammer et al., 1999; Hsieh et al., 2001; Kıvancß & € zcan & Boyraz, 2000; O € zcan & Erkmen, Akg€ ul, 1986; O 2001). In addition, it is also known that the compositions of hydrosols and their antimicrobial effects depend on plant species and regional conditions. Some researchers reported that there is a relationship between the chemical structures of the most abundant compounds in the tested essential oils and the antimicrobial activity (Deans & Svoboda, 1990; Farag et al., 1989).

The antimicrobial activities of oregano, summer savory and black thyme hydrosols may possibly be due to the presence of carvacrol and thymol (Deans & Svoboda, 1990; Farag et al., 1989). Our results suggest that the use of some spice hydrosols as antimicrobial agents may be exploitable to prevent the deterioration of stored foods by bacteria, as long as the taste impact is acceptable in the targeted foods.

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