Antibacterial activities of rosemary essential oils and their components against pathogenic bacteria

Abstract

There are many known essential oils, of which only 300 are commercially important for different types of industry. Antimicrobials are used in food for two main reasons: to control natural spoilage processes and to prevent/control growth of micro-organisms, including pathogenic microorganisms. The aim of this review was to investigate antibacterial effects of rosemary essential oils (EOs) on some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium. Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil is very important for its medicinal uses and its powerful antibacterial, cytotoxic, anti-mutagenic, antioxidant, anti-phlogistic and chemopreventive properties. The antimicrobial and other biological activities of rosemary essential oil are directly correlated with the presence of bioactive volatile components. To this end, one possibility has been the use of rosemary essential oils (EOs) and the compounds found there in as alternative antimicrobial food preservatives. The future will see investigation of food applications of the naturally occurring antimicrobials, especially the effectiveness of rosemary EOs, individually and in combination with other parts of plant extract, other effective EOs and other food-processing techniques.