The Effect of Cuminum cyminum Essential oil on Growth and Survival of Staphylococcus aureus during Storage of Hamburger

In recent years, due to transformed resistance form of pathogenic bacteria to chemicals the application of herbal essential o il as natural preservatives has been paid much attention. The objective of this study was to determine the antimicrobial effect of cuminum cyminum essential oil on Staphylococcus aureus in hamburgers. The essential oil was extracted through steam distillation and its components were identified by mass spectrometry – gas chromatography (MS-GC). The extracted essential oil was added in concentrations of 0.03, 0.015 and 0.0075% to hamburgers which had been infected with10 3 cfu/g S. aureus. The data was statistically analyzed by use of software SPSS 18 with the confidence level being 95%. The results of Gc were identified 23 compounds in 96% of essential oil. The main compounds found in the essential oil were phenyl propanol (28.21%), γ- terpinene (23.9%), β-pinene (14.72%), cumin aldehyde (14.31%) and p- cymene (8.13). The result showed that the number of bacteria significantly decreased as the concentration of essential oil increased. However, no variations were observed in chemical parameters. The best essential oil concentration regarding inhibitory effect against bacterial growth as well as manufacturing hamburgers with savory properties was 0.03% followed by 0.0075 %. The results demonstrated that Cuminum cyminum essential oil at high concentrations holds a great antimicrobial potential, thus it may be used as a substitute for chemical preservatives for controlling Staphylococcus aureus caused poisoning resulting from consuming meat