Antimicrobial effectiveness of spices: an approach for use in food conservation systems

Abstract

There has been constant an increasing the search alternative and efficient compounds for food conservation, aiming a partial or total replacement of antimicrobial chemical additives. Spices offer a promising alternative for food safety. Inhibitory activity of spices and derivatives on the growth of bacteria, yeasts, fungi and microbial toxins synthesis has been well reported, so they could be used in food conservation as main or as adjuvant antimicrobial compounds in order to assure the production of microbiologically stable foods.