Antimicrobial Effect of Lippia citriodora Extract in Combination with Gallic Acid or Octyl Gallate on Bacteria from Meat

• Published in: Foods Vol. 13; no. 11; p. 1643
• Main Authors: Rúa, Javier, Sanz-Gómez, Javier, Maestro, Sheila, Caro, Irma, García-Armesto, María Rosario
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24-05-2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Acids; Anti-infective agents; Antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; Antioxidants; Atmosphere; Bacteria; Chickens; Ethanol; Food consumption; Food contamination & poisoning; Food products; Gallic acid; Health aspects; Lactic acid; Lactic acid bacteria; Lipids; Lippia citriodora; Lippia citriodora extract; Materia medica, Vegetable; Meat; Meat products; Microorganisms; modified atmosphere; Modified atmospheres; Natural products; phenolic compounds; Phenols; Plant extracts; Poultry; poultry meat; refrigeration; Spoilage; Temperature; Testing; Verbena; United Kingdom; Spain; United States > US; phenolic compounds; refrigeration; antimicrobial activity; poultry meat; modified atmosphere; Lippia citriodora extract
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods13111643

Chicken meat and its derivatives are easily alterable. They are a nutritionally healthy food, and their consumption has seen a remarkable increase worldwide in recent years. At the same time, consumer demand for the use of natural products to control microbial growth is increasing. In this context, the antimicrobial capacity of a commercial extract of the lemon verbena (
) plant, (LCE) was tested in binary combination with gallic acid or octyl gallate against two strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of meat origin:
ATCC 35677 and
ATCC 49367. First, the antimicrobial potential was evaluated by the checkerboard microdilution method at the optimal growth temperature of each and at 4 °C, pH 5.7 and 6.7, in culture medium. Octyl gallate was the most effective antimicrobial against the two bacteria under all study conditions. At 4 °C, the combination of LCE with octyl gallate had a similar antimicrobial effect on the two LAB, being bactericidal at pH 6.7. In chicken breast, this effective combination was tested in normal or modified atmosphere and refrigerated (4-8 °C) for 9 days. LCE + OG in modified atmosphere reduced the different microbial groups studied, including the lactic acid bacteria as the main microorganisms responsible for the spoilage of fresh meat. Further research could pave the way for the development of novel strategies contributing to the technological stability, security, and functional properties of chicken meat.