Food Research Institute

Houicher, A. ‒ Bensid, A. ‒ Oudenani, B. ‒ Rahmania, F. ‒ Özogul, F.
Effect of spearmint and pennyroyal essential oils on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus inoculated in chocolate mousse during chilled storage and abused temperature
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 59, 2020, No. 4, s. 332-340

Abderrahmane Houicher, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Science, Amar Telidji University, BP 37 G, Laghouat 03000, Algeria. E-mail: a.houicher@yahoo.fr; a.houicher@lagh-univ.dz

Received 19 August 2020; 1st revised 15 September 2020; 2nd revised 23 October 2020; accepted 30 October 2020; published online 28 November 2020.

Summary: The chemical composition of Mentha spicata and M. pulegium essential oils, and their effect at various contents (2 ml·kg^-1 and 4 ml·kg^-1) on the survival and growth of Staphylococcus aureus inoculated to chocolate mousse during chilled storage and abused temperature were investigated. Yields of essential oils of the air-dried aerial parts of M. spicata and M. pulegium were 0.9 % and 1.2 % (w/w, on dry weight basis), respectively. Carvone (53.3 %), D-limonene (16.9 %), eucalyptol (8.9 %) and terpinen-4-ol (2.7 %) were the highest represented components of spearmint essential oil, while pennyroyal essential oil contained mainly piperitenone (41.4 %), pulegone (27.1 %), cis-menthone (9.1 %) and piperitone (9 %). Incorporation of M. spicata or M. pulegium essential oils in chocolate mousse led to a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of Staph. aureus growth during the entire storage time, as compared to control, indicating that these oils contain high levels of bioactive antimicrobials. Their efficiency was not also affected by abused temperature condition and/or essential oil contents in chocolate mousse, suggesting that these essential oils are potential candidates to be used as alternatives of synthetic preservatives in pastry products to control foodborne pathogens and improve product safety and quality.

Keywords: spearmint; pennyroyal; essential oil; Staphylococcus aureus; chocolate mousse; abused temperature

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