In vitro synergistic antibacterial activity of Melissa officinalis L. and some preservatives

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of aqueous, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of the species Melissa officinalis L. and their in vitro synergistic action with preservatives, namely: sodium nitrite, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate against selected food spoiling bacteria, for a potential use in food industry. Synergistic action was noticed in almost every combination between plant extracts and preservatives. This work showed that the active compounds from ethanol, ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts of Melissa officinalis L. significantly enhanced the effectiveness of tested preservatives. Synergism was established at plant extract and preservative concentrations corresponding to 1/4 and 1/8 minimal inhibitory concentration values, which indicated the possibility of avoiding the use of higher concentrations of tested preservatives.

Phytochemical screening and biological activity of Lamiaceae family plant extracts

“…A total of four bacterial strains that grow primarily on skin and constitute part of the intestinal flora and food contaminants ( 4 ) were used to determine the antibacterial effect of medicinal plant extracts. The following bacterial strains were used: Escherichia coli (cat.…”

“…Its members also strengthen and stimulate, and have specific effects associated with a particular organ or system. It has been demonstrated that the active compounds present in plants from the Lamiaceae family have natural antibacterial ( 4 , 5 ), antioxidant ( 6 , 7 ), antifungal ( 8 ) and antitumor effects ( 9 , 10 ) which suggests that they may be viable alternatives to synthetic products in the therapy of various diseases. Thus, the proven benefits on human health represent the main reason why various medicinal plant species belonging to the Lamiaceae family are increasingly exploited nowadays, in various formulations.…”

Extracts of medicinal plants as functional beer additives

“…The antioxidant activity of lemon balm has been evaluated by many authors [17][18][19]. In the food industry, lemon balm and its extracts are used as spices, natural antioxidants, and stabilizers [20,21].…”

Sufficiency ranges for lemon balm and nutrient removals in aboveground phytomass

“…The use of lemon balm in folk medicine and its multiple perceived health benefits have led to intense research activity in the fields of phytotherapy and pharmacognosy. Several studies have been conducted to evaluate the chemical composition of lemon balm (Pereira et al 2014), its anxiolytic activity (Vafaei et al 2005;Taiwo et al 2012), and nutraceutical and antioxidant properties (Dias et al 2012;Luño et al 2015) as well as its potential as an antimicrobial (Stanojevic et al 2010;Rabbani et al 2016), a neuroprotective (L opez et al 2009;Kamdem et al 2013), or a carcinopreventive (Sousa et al 2004;Weidner et al 2015) agent.…”