In Vitro Evaluation of Antimicrobial Effect of Phytobiotics Mixture on Salmonella spp. Isolated from Chicken Broiler

Abstract

Background: The identification of natural antibacterial agents from various sources that can act effectively against disease-causing foodborne bacteria is one of the major concerns throughout the world. In the present study, a unique phytobiotics mixture containing thymol, menthol, linalool, trans-anethole, methyl salicylate, 1,8-cineole, and p-cymene was evaluated for antibacterial activity against selected strains of Salmonella spp. Results: The phytobiotics mixture was effective against Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovars Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and Kentucky. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of this unique mixture for these three pathogens were 1:256. Among these three strains, one S. Kentucky presented the most extensive resistance profiles to 18 antibiotics belonging to 5 classes of antibiotics. One of S. Typhimurium presents extensive resistance profiles to 14 antibiotics belonging to 5 classes of antibiotics. Conclusions: The results suggest that the phytobiotics mixture used in the experiment can be used as a strong natural antibacterial agent against Gram-negative foodborne pathogens such as S. Typhimurium, S. Kentucky, and S. Enteritidis. This is a preliminary analysis of the effectiveness of a phytobiotic product in an in vitro model, which may be the starting point for further studies, including in vivo animal models.

In Vitro Assessment of Antimicrobial Activity of Phytobiotics Composition towards of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and Other E. coli Strains Isolated from Broiler Chickens

“…In the case of effective action on E. coli strains (including APEC) isolated from material collected from industrial farms, this solution, after confirming its effectiveness in an in vitro model, can effectively improve the uniformity of the flock, reduce the occurrence of the mentioned infections, and indirectly improve the economy of poultry production at various stages and help reduce the growing drug resistance among bacteria that pose a threat to both human and animal health and life. What is observed on farms, but also reported in scientific publications, is the increasing drug resistance of E. coli strains including APEC [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Drugs routinely used to control this type of infection in poultry are either banned by recipients of livestock, or their administration requires a number of measures.…”

“…The study is a continuation of the observations carried out on various strains of Salmonella spp. [ 29 ] with the difference that, in the current study, a second, compositionally modified mixture of phytobiotics was used, which also showed high effectiveness against E. coli including APEC. The obtained results complement previous analyses and provide new, promising data on the possibility of reducing and controlling bacteria in broiler flocks responsible for foodborne disease in humans.…”

“…As has been emphasized many times in previous studies [ 29 , 30 , 31 ], phytobiotics are an excellent alternative to classic antibiotic therapy in veterinary medicine, especially in food-providing animals. This is mainly due to the higher safety of this type of product (fewer side effects, lower toxicity, and, most importantly, no drug resistance and no withdrawal period).…”

“…Two mixtures were prepared for the further tests. The first one (H1), as well as in the previous test against Salmonella spp., contained thymol, menthol, linalool, trans -anethole, methyl salicylate, 1,8-cineol, and p -cymene [ 29 ]. The second mixture (H2), except compounds from the H1, also contained terpinen-4-ol and γ-terpinene.…”

“…The presented study is a continuation of previous analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of a mixture of phytobiotics against selected Salmonella strains isolated from field trials, as well as reference strains [ 29 ]. This study presents the effectiveness analysis against various strains of E. coli (including APEC) isolated from broiler flocks from industrial farms in Poland subject two mixtures of phytobiotics: (1) with exactly the same composition as the one presented in the previous study; (2) being a modification of the first in terms of the amount and type of ingredients, two more phytoncides were added to the mixture: terpinen-4-ol and γ-terpinene.…”