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Inhibition of Clostridium botulinum by Spice Extracts and Aliphatic Alcohols
1Eastern Regional Research Center 1 , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19118.
Abstract:
Alcoholic extracts of spices were prepared and tested for inhibition of Clostridium botulinum in culture media. Mace (the outer covering of the seed of Myristica fragrans ) and achiote (annato, Bixa orellana ) were the most inhibitory of 33 spices studied. Also quite active were bay leaf ( Laurus nobilis ), white and black pepper ( Piper nigrum ) and nutmeg (the seed of M. fragrans ). Less active were rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis ), clove ( Eugenia caryophyllata ), oregano ( Oreganum vulgare ), turmeric ( Circuma longa ), thyme ( Thymus vulgaris ), and paprika ( Capsicum annuum ). Of the series C1 to C18, aliphatic straight chain alcohols of C14 or C16 chain-lengths were the most inhibitory against C. botulinum with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.6 ppm. A plot of alcohol chain length versus MIC showed a highly significant (P < 0.01) cubic function.
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