Inhibitory activity of essential oils of garlic and onion against bacteria and yeasts

J Food Prot. 2004 Mar;67(3):499-504. doi: 10.4315/0362-028x-67.3.499.

Abstract

The essential oils of garlic and onion and their constituent sulfides with three or more sulfur atoms were potent inhibitors of yeast growth. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of garlic oil, onion oil, diallyl trisulfide, diallyl tetrasulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide for all the yeasts tested ranged between 2 and 45 ppm. The oils and their constituent sulfides, however, were only very weakly antibacterial, showing minimum inhibitory concentrations of greater than 300 ppm for most of the bacteria tested. The antiyeast activity of garlic oil and onion oil was storage stable and was not influenced by pH. Film formation on soy sauce by Zygosaccharomyces rouxii SS1 was completely prevented for 30 days by the addition of 30 and 40 ppm of garlic oil and onion oil, respectively.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Allyl Compounds / pharmacology*
  • Bacteria / drug effects*
  • Bacteria / growth & development
  • Colony Count, Microbial
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Food Microbiology*
  • Food Preservation / methods
  • Fungi / drug effects*
  • Fungi / growth & development
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Plant Oils / pharmacology*
  • Sulfides / pharmacology*
  • Zygosaccharomyces / drug effects
  • Zygosaccharomyces / growth & development

Substances

  • Allyl Compounds
  • Plant Extracts
  • Plant Oils
  • Sulfides
  • onion oil
  • allyl sulfide