Inhibition of Essential Oil on Pellicle Formation of and and Its Effect on Volatile Compounds in Sichuan Pickles.

Pellicle formation is the most typical characteristic of deteriorating fermented vegetable products. essential oil (PEO) is widely used as a useful natural preservative. However, few studies have addressed the antifungal activity and mechanism of PEO in pellicle formation microorganisms, and it is still unclear whether it can inhibit pellicle formation and affect its volatile compounds in Sichuan pickles. The current study showed that PEO can inhibit pellicle formation during fermentation of Sichuan pickles as it had significant antifungal activity against the pellicle formation microorganisms SH1 and SH2. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of PEO against SH1 and SH2 was determined to be 0.4 μL/mL, and the minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) were 1.6 μL/mL and 0.8 μL/mL, respectively. The antifungal mechanism was activated as a result of damage to the cell membrane, an increase in the cell permeability, a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential, and the inhibition of ATPase activity. Meanwhile, the addition of PEO to Sichuan pickles can enrich the profiles of volatile compounds during fermentation, including limonene, myrcene, 1,8-cineole, linalool, perilla ketone, heptanal, hexanal, α-thujone and β-terpineol and thus improve the overall sensory acceptability. These results indicated that PEO has the potential to be used as a novel food preservative to control pellicle formation in fermented vegetables.