Essential oils (EOs) are a class of natural products that exhibit potent antimicrobial properties against a broad spectrum of bacteria. Inhibition diameters (IDs) and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) are the typical measures of antimicrobial activity for extracts and EOs obtained from Cinnamomum, Salvia, and Mentha species.
Plant extracts have been proposed as alternative biocides and antioxidants to be included in a variety of food products. In this work, to assess the potential of French lavender, lemon balm, basil, tarragon, sage, and spearmint to be used as food additives, the chemical profiles and bioactivities of such plant extracts were studied.
Deliverable 4.2 summarises the results of activities performed under Tasks 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 of the ArtiSaneFood project. D4.2 compiles the type of extracts or essential oils, their concentrations, and how they will be applied in the target artisanal foods for the conduction of the challenge studies of WP5.
This report is mainly focused on natural antimicrobials and specially the use of essential oils as food additives, providing in parallel basic information on their mode of action and their antimicrobial activity against selected foodborne pathogens.