Evaluations of the antibacterial effect of chitosan edible film contain ajwain essential oil on some foodborne pathogenic bacteria

Biodegradable active packaging containing natural extracts derived from plants with antimicrobial properties is one alternative strategy that can be considered by the food packing industry to reduce the use of environmentally harmful synthetic polymers. Chitosan is a safe, natural, no allergen and biocompatible polymer with health benefits. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chitosan film containing different concentrations of ajwain essential oil on some foodborne pathogenic bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19118, Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 65138 and Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 25922, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC 43996 with disk diffusion method was evaluated. The results showed that by increasing the concentration of essential oil, the inhibition zone’s diameters were significantly expanded (p 0.05). The maximum and minimum antimicrobial effects of essential oil were observed against S. aureus (26.73mm) and E. coli O157:H7 (11.25 mm). The results of this study confirmed that the use of chitosan-based antimicrobial films incorporated with ajwain essential oil has a remarkable antibacterial effect and therefore it can be practical in active packaging in the food industry.