Traditional food preservation methods are less efficient in reducing the growth of food-borne pathogens in food products, and the ever-increasing demand for chemical-free food has paved the way for antimicrobials to be used in food industry. The use of antimicrobials is a new technology by the food industry to increase the shelf life of food and overcome the issues of food quality and safety. These antimicrobials could be of natural or synthetic type, but natural antimicrobials are gaining much importance than synthetic ones. Even though synthetic preservatives are approved by government agencies for human use, many of these preservatives still threaten our health. Thus, researchers give more importance toward the potential of natural products for their antimicrobial activities.

Natural antimicrobial agents

Chemical compounds having pharmacological and biological activity and produced by living organisms are called natural products. Living organisms produce primary and secondary metabolites. Primary metabolites are the products that have essential function in the organism, while secondary metabolites could simply be waste products or could have some important function in their producers. Secondary metabolites can be used as drugs against diseases such as cancer, inflammation (swelling), and so on and also have antimicrobial activity. Secondary metabolites possessing antimicrobial activity are called the natural antimicrobials and could be extracted from different sources like plants (fruits, vegetables, seeds, herb, and spices), animals (eggs, milk, and tissues), and microorganisms (fungi and bacteria). With special reference to plants, secondary metabolites are found to be healthy ingredients that work as antimicrobials or disease-controlling agents. Owing to the potential of antimicrobials against pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, these secondary metabolites gain much importance for the application in food products. They contain the properties of antimicrobials and antioxidants at the same time and so are considered as a better option for food preservation as compared to synthetic preservatives.

Antimicrobial components of plant origin include flavonoids, thiosulfinates, glucosinolates, phenolics, organic acids, flavonoids, and saponins. However, the main compounds with antimicrobial activity are phenols which include terpenes, aliphatic alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, acids, and isoflavonoids.

Antimicrobial components in plant materials are commonly found in herbs and spices (rosemary, sage, basil, oregano, thyme, cardamom, and clove), fruits and vegetables (guava, pepper, cabbage, garlic, and onion, citrus), seeds and leaves (grape seeds, fennel, nutmeg, parsley, and olive leaves).

Essential oils, as plant extracts possessing antimicrobial agents and also antioxidative and flavoring properties, can be considered as healthy ingredients to be used in meat and meat products. If essential oils are used in meat products, they can reduce the chances of food-borne diseases and can retard the oxidation of lipids in meat.

Antimicrobials from plant sources

Herbs and spices

Herbs and spices have long been used by human beings for different reasons like food additives, flavorings, and preservatives. They are considered the most commonly used natural antimicrobials against different pathogens. The antimicrobial activity of herbs and spices depends on the type of essential oil present in it, food type in which it has to be used, and the type of microorganism.

Some of the antimicrobial compounds that are present in spices and herbs are eugenol, thymol, thymol and carvacrol, vanillin, allicin, cinnamic aldehyde, and allyl isothiocyanate that are, respectively, present in cloves, thyme, oregano, vanilla, garlic, cinnamon, and mustard.

Essential oils possess antimicrobial activities against several pathogenic microorganisms present in meat, including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Many studies have been conducted to analyze the effects of essential oils extracted from sources such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, garlic, and clove, when used alone or in combination with other essential oils.

Mustard and horseradish essential oils also have antimicrobial activities against Gram-negative bacteria.

Sage essential oil is used at a concentration of 0.3% in minced beef in combination with soy protein. Rosemary or Chinese mahogany (500, 1000, and 1500 ppm) is used to increase fresh chicken sausage.

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