Antifungal Activity of Selected Natural Preservatives against and and the Interactions of These Preservatives with Food Components.

The present study examined the influence of primary food components on the antifungal activity of the essential oil of carvacrol, thymol, eugenol, and -cinnamaldehyde against and . The MIC was determined in food model media enriched with proteins (1, 5, or 10%), carbohydrates (1, 4, or 6%), or oil (1, 5, or 10%). Proteins increased the antifungal activity of essential oil, carvacrol, thymol, and eugenol, whereas the effect of -cinnamaldehyde decreased with increasing protein content. The presence of carbohydrates diminished the inhibitory effect of the natural preservatives on ; for their inhibitory effect increased with carbohydrates. Only the antifungal activity of -cinnamaldehyde did not depend on the carbohydrate content. The presence of oil had the strongest influence. At a concentration of 1% oil, the antifungal activity decreased significantly, and at 10% oil, almost no inhibition was observed. To investigate the effect of the antifungal agents on the morphology of the target molds, they were grown on malt extract agar containing carvacrol and -cinnamaldehyde and were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The hyphae, conidiophores, vesicles, and phialides were severely altered and deformed, and spore formation was clearly suppressed.