Observations placeholder
Bay leaves and bacteria
Identifier
006991
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
a natural antibiotic to prevent food poisoning, but also a natural antibiotic, full stop. No need for the oil, use the leaves.
A description of the experience
Nat Prod Res. 2012;26(6):518-29. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2010.531478. Epub 2011 Jul 15.
Antioxidant and antibacterial activity of essential oil and extracts of bay laurel Laurus nobilis Linnaeus (Lauraceae) from Portugal. Ramos C1, Teixeira B, Batista I, Matos O, Serrano C, Neng NR, Nogueira JM, Nunes ML, Marques A. Research Unit of Upgrading of Fishery and Farmed Products, National Institute of Biological Resources (INRB, IP/IPIMAR), Lisboa, Portugal.
Laurus nobilis L. is an aromatic plant frequently used as a spice in Mediterranean cookery and as a traditional medicine for the treatment of several infectious diseases.
The aim of this study was to characterise the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of bay laurel essential oil (EO), ethanolic extract (EE) and hot/cold aqueous extract (AE).
The major components detected in bay laurel EO were eucalyptol (27.2%), α-terpinenyl acetate (10.2%), linalool (8.4%), methyleugenol (5.4%), sabinene (4.0%) and carvacrol (3.2%). The EO exhibited strong antibacterial activity against all tested foodborne spoilage and pathogenic bacteria, whereas this activity was less pronounced or even nonexistent in the EE and AE.
In contrast, EO exhibited low antioxidant activity compared to extracts (EX), and among the EX, the hot AE revealed the highest antioxidant ability.
The results show that bay laurel EO and its EX have potential as natural alternatives to synthetic food preservatives, in order to enhance food safety and increase food shelf life.
PMID: 21756182