Decontamination Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles, Rosmarinic Acid and Anatolian Propolis on Foodborne Bacteria

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, paint, textile, and food industries to coat surfaces and absorb UV rays. As a result of its antimicrobial properties in nanoscale, it may be a promising chemical for decontamination. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are generally considered safe (GRAS) for their stability under challenging processing conditions. Our study investigated the antimicrobial activities of rosmarinic acid and propolis, prepared at different concentrations together with ZnO-NPs. For this purpose, six leading foodborne pathogens and a starter culture were chosen. The invitro decontamination effects of ZnO-NPs, rosmarinic acid, and propolis combinations on selected bacteria in the first 24 hours were demonstrated by bacterial counts at regular intervals. According to our results, propolis and ZnO-NPs showed remarkable results together. In addition, rosmarinic acid’s lower concentrations were also found to induce the decontamination effect of ZnO-NPs. Although the antimicrobial effect of ZnO-NPs, when used alone, was less than when used in combination, it was still found to be sufficient.

Keywords

• zinc oxide
• nanoparticles
• rosmarinic acid
• propolis
• decontamination
• food safety