Essential oils against bacterial biofilm formation and quorum sensing of food-borne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms

Kerekes, Erika-Beáta and Vidács, Anita and Török Jenei, Julianna and Gömöri, Csila and Takó, Miklós and Chandrasekaran, Muthusamy and Kadaikunnan, S. and Alharbi, Naiyf S. and Krisch, Judit and Vágvölgyi, Csaba (2015) Essential oils against bacterial biofilm formation and quorum sensing of food-borne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. In: The Battle Against Microbial Pathogens:Basic Science, Technological Advances and Educational Programs. Microbiology Book Series, 5 (5). Formatex Research Center, Bajadoz, pp. 429-437. ISBN 978-84-942134-6-5

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Abstract

Bacterial attachment and biofilm formation cause severe hygiene problems in the food industry. Biofilms can be formed on different equipment surfaces (stainless steel, plastic, rubber, teflon, glass) and also on foods (meat, dairy and seafood products, vegetables, fruits, brewing). Extracellular polymeric substances are the protecting material of these structures and represent the barrier between the environment and the bacteria making them less sensitive to disinfectants. These structures can be formed by bacteria and yeast as well, but the most common forms in nature are the mixed-culture biofilms. Most of these biofilms harbor also pathogens therefore biofilms are a continuous source of contamination that may lead not only to food spoilage but also transmission of diseases. Raw products like poultry meat, vegetables, fruits,sea food have frequently been found to be contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms like Listeria monocytogenes,Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. When talking about biofilms the density-dependent cell-to-cell communication called quorum sensing (QS) has to be mentioned. QS plays an important role in biofilm development,resistance and virulence. QS signaling molecules can be oligopeptides in Gram-positive bacteria, N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) in Gram-negative bacteria and autoinducer-2 (AI-2) in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Controlling this mechanism could be a potential strategy against the development of resistance. The conventional control sanitizing strategies are chemicals (chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, peracetic acid) and ultrasonication, enzymes, phages, preservatives, heat treatment or refrigeration. The number of usable chemicals in food and eco-food industry is limited and their use can often produce unpleasant by-products. Nowadays customers prefer products that are minimally processed and have fewer chemicals so it has become necessary to find natural and effective cleaning and preserving products. There is a growing interest in using essential oils (EOs) as natural preservatives and sanitizers in the food industry. EOs damage the cell wall and membranes of microorganisms, alter the morphology and coagulate the cytoplasmatic material. Most of them are recognized as safe (GRAS) and can be used directly in foodstuff. Latest research and our experiments reported the good antimicrobial effects of EOs on pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. Besides this, they have good anti-biofilm forming and anti-QS effect. The strong aroma of EOs can affect organoleptic properties of foods. Our results showed that it is possible to find a dose of EOs which combines antimicrobial efficiency with a pleasant flavour effect. These results lead to the conclusion that EOs can be used as alternative sanitizers and preservatives in the food industry.

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