Antimicrobial Efficacy of Cinnamon Oil for the Production of Muffins

Abstract

There is a renewed interest in the antimicrobial properties of spice oil. Spice plants have been shown to possess medicinal significance. Cinnamon oil has high antimicrobial activity. Oil could act as preservatives by eliminating food-borne pathogens. Antimicrobial activity of the oil extracted from Cinnamomum verum was tested in vitro against four microbial species by following well diffusion assay. Two gram positive (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus) and two gram negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp.) were selected in the first phase of the research project. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) ranges were calculated by micro-broth dilution method. During second phase, effect of oil was checked by adding it in different ratio in muffins. Muffins were incorporated with 0.2 %, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1% of the oil. Sensory analysis of the muffins was assessed. Storage stability was checked by performing sensory evaluation with the interval of five days upto fifteen days. Data obtained from microbial and sensory analysis was evaluated through two way and one way analysis of variance, respectively at a confidence level of P≤0.05. The separation of means was done by applying Duncan Multiple Range test (DMRt). Stability test indicated superb preservative properties of the incorporated oil on muffins at ambient temperature.