Sublethal amounts of Origanum vulgare L. essential oil and carvacrol cause injury and changes in membrane fatty acid of Salmonella Typhimurium cultivated in a meat broth.

This study aimed to evaluate whether sublethal concentrations of the essential oil of Origanum vulgare L. (OVEO) and its major compound carvacrol (CAR) cause injury to the cell membrane and outer membrane of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 14028 grown in a meat broth and to assess the effect of these substances on membrane fatty acid (FA) composition. Exposure of Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 to sublethal concentrations of OVEO or CAR caused damage to the cytoplasmic membrane and outer membrane. OVEO- and CAR-treated cells showed lower amounts of saturated FA than nontreated cells. Changes in membrane FA composition were mainly related to an increase of C16:1ω7c, C16:1ω7t, and C18:2ω6c, and to a decrease of C16:0, C17:0 cyclo, and C19:0 cyclo. These results indicate that exposure to sublethal concentrations of OVEO or CAR caused sublethal injury Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 and suggest that an adaptive response to these stresses is related to increased synthesis of unsaturated FA and cis-trans isomerization.