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Backgrounds: Nowadays, excessive use of fungal drugs has led to the development of drug-resistant fungi, making it necessary to find natural and herbal antifungal agents. This in-vitro study aimed to evaluate the interactions of Satureja hortensis and Carum carvi essential oils together and each essential oil with fluconazole against Candida albicans ATCC-10231.
Materials & Methods: In this study, antifungal properties of different concentrations of S. hortensis (0.0244-1.56 μL/mL) and C. carvi (0.39-25 μL/mL) were investigated by broth-microdilution method based on CLSI M27-A3 and M27-S4 standard documents. The interactions of essential oils together and each essential oil with fluconazole were evaluated by checkerboard assay. Then using the ΣFIC index, the interaction results were interpreted.
Findings: S. hortensis essential oil showed higher antifungal activity than C. carvi essential oil. (MIC/MFC: S. hortensis: 1.56/3.12 μL/mL and C. carvi: 12.5/25 μL/mL). The interaction between S. hortensis essential oil and fluconazole was on the synergic and additive borderline (FICI=0.508), the interaction between C. carvi essential oil and fluconazole was additive (FICI=0.62), and C. carvi and S. hortensis essential oils showed no interaction together (FICI=2.015).
Conclusion: The essential oils of S. hortensis and C. carvi separately exhibited powerful antifungal activities. The use of S. hortensis essential oil at a very low concentration along with fluconazole caused an interaction very close to synergy and increased fluconazole antifungal activity. Therefore, S. hortensis is a potential candidate for combined use with fluconazole to treat C. albicans related diseases.

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In this study, the effect of carboxylmethyl cellulose edible coating containing summer savory (Satureja hortensis) extract on the quality of Lethrinus nebulosus fillets during chilled storage was evaluated. Summer savory extract was extracted using ethanol 80% and its chemical compositions was analyzed using GC/MS system that totally 22 compounds were detected for summer savory extract and carvacrol was the main compound (28.67%) of extract according to GC/MS analysis. The fish fillets were divided into five groups: the control, CMC and CMC coating containing 0.5, 1 and 1.5% of summer savory extract and stored at 4±2°C for 9 days. During storage period, the analysis of biochemical (pH, TVB-N, TBA and FFA), microbial (total viable count and psychrotrophic count) and sensory evaluation (texture, odor, color and overall acceptance) for all samples were showed significantly changes (p<0.05). At the end of storage period, the sample treated with 1.5% of extract significantly had the lowest values of TBA, FFA and microbial growth compared to the control (p<0.05). Also, coated samples had the lower values of pH (p<0.05) and TVB-N than the control sample at the end of storage period. As regards to sensory evaluation, the coated samples had a longer shelf life (3 days) than the control sample, and the sensory properties of samples treated with extracts of 1 and 1.5%, significantly improved compared to the control on day 9 (p<0.05). Therefore, CMC coating enriched with summer savory extract represents a promising method for maintaining the quality of L. nebulosus fillets during chilled storage.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical compositions and antimicrobial activity of Satureja hortensis essential oil against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas fluorescens OS8, Alternaria alternata PTCC 5224 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 in vitro. In this study, S.hortensis essential oil was purchased from Barij Essence Pharmaceutical Company (Kashan, Iran). The chemical analysis of the essential oil was performed by using Gas chromatography/ mass spectrophotometer (GC/MS). The antimicrobial activity was determined through agar diffusion method (well and disc) and broth micro-dilution based on the CLSI protocol . The results showed that the main compounds in the oil were carvacrol (37.83%) and Isopropyl Myristate (59.14%). The oil showed activity against all tested strains. In all treatments, Gram-negative strains tested were more resistant to the antimicrobial activity of essential oil. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of S.hortensis essential oil on the Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Staphylococcus aureus and Alternaria alternata was 2 , 1 , 0.5 and 1( mg/ml) respectively. The agar difiusion tests showed, the reduction of essential oil concentration significantly reduces the diameter of inhibition zone for all tested microorganisms. According to the result of this study and increasing resistance of bacteria to chemical antibiotics, it is recommended that more studies on this plant and antibacterial compounds are needed for treating infections.

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Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens that cause food poisoning, especially in meat products. Satureja hortensis extract has a excessive effect in preventing the growth of Staphylococcus aureus due to its high content of phenolic compounds in vitro. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of methanolic extract of Satureja hortensis on the inhibition of growth of Staphylococcus aureus in ground meat and to determine its effective concentration in this product. After extraction of Satureja hortensis extract using methanol, the extract was added to inoculated meat with Staphylococcus aureus at concentrations of 0.06, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 1.5% and after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days total count and growth rate of this bacterium were studied. The results showed that concentrations of 0.25% or more of Satureja sativa extract could inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and total count in ground meat. On the other hand, sensory evaluation results showed that using up to 0.5% of Satureja sativa extract had a positive effect on sensory characteristics of ground meat. Therefore, the Satureja sativa extract can be used as a natural preservative in meat products, especially ground meat.

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In order to investigate the effect of savory extract levels and polysaccharide-based active bio-composite coatings on the shelf life of broiler fillets, 2 separate experiments each with 6 treatments and 3 replications, were designed in a completely randomized design and performed simultaneously. Treatments in experiment 1 included fillet with coating 0 (control), 0.75% or 1.5% of savory extract alone or in combination with 3% sodium alginate coating and in experiment 2, included uncoated fillets (control), containing 1.5% of savory extract, guar coating 0.5% - extract, carboxy methylcellulose coating 1% - extract, guar coating – carboxy methylcellulose and guar coating – carboxy methylcellulose - savory extract. Chemical and bacterial spoilage indices including PV, TBARS and TVB_N were evaluated every 3 days during a 12-day period of keeping the fillets at 4±1^oC. The results of experiment 1 showed that in parallel with the increasing the concentration of savory extract to 1.5%, the sodium alginate-extract composite coating reduced the PV, TBARS and TVB_N of fillets (P <0.05). Minimum amount of PV (5.40 ± 0.30 meq/kg), TBARS (1.22 ± 0.00 mg MDA/kg) and TVB_N (26.50 ± 1.35 mg/100g) were seen in fillets containing alginate - 1.5% savory extract composite coating (P <0.05). Also, in experiment 2, the fillets containing guar gum – carboxy methylcellulose - savory extract bio-composite coating have the lowest ​​of PV (5.10 ± 0.33 meg/kg), TBARS (1.10 ± 0.05 mg MDA/kg) and TVB_N (25.30 ± 1.90 mg/100g) at the end of the storage period (P <0.05). Therefore, guar gum – carboxy methylcellulose - 1.5% savory extract bio-composite coating as a new packaging can be used to increasing the shelf life of broiler fillets during refrigerator storage (4±1^oC).