• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.24-36
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• 2024

This study determines the combinatorial effect of enterocin MSW5 and five essential oils (EOs- Thymus vulgaris, Cymbopogon martini, Origanum vulgare, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and Cymbopogon citrus) against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella Typhimurium. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of each antimicrobial agent was determined. The MIC of enterocin MSW5 against test pathogens was in the following order: S. aureus (0.362 ± 0.01), S. Typhimurium (0.362 ± 0.05 mg/ml), L. monocytogenes (0.725 ± 0.08 mg/ml). Among all EOs, maximum activity was observed in the case of C. zeylanicum against S. aureus (78.12 ± 0.04 ppm), S. Typhimurium (78.12 ± 0.08 ppm), and L. monocytogenes (39.00 ± 0.05 ppm). Further, the checkerboard assay was used to determine the synergistic effect between antimicrobial agents and enterocin MSW5 in combination with C. zeylanicum has shown significant synergism with the Fraction Inhibitory Concentration index (0.372) against test pathogens. Additionally, individual EOs and enterocin MSW5 have shown anti-biofilm activity, whereas their combined use has shown more significant antibiofilm activity. The maximum anti-biofilm activity was observed with the combination of enterocin MSW5 and O. vulgares against S. aureus (92.86 ± 0.06%) and S. Typhimurium (73.63 ± 0.23%) and a combination of enterocin MSW5 and C. citrus against L. monocytogenes (87.84 ± 0.15%). Therefore, combinations of antimicrobial compounds can control the growth of foodborne pathogens better than the individual agent.