SUMMARY
Geraniol and linalool have been found to be effective against foodborne microorganisms in vitro. However, due to their hydrophobic nature, it is difficult to achieve an even dispersion in foods with high water content resulting in dramatic loss of activity. The aim of the study was to fabricate geraniol or linalool nanoemulsions and investigate their effect against Escherichia coli K12, Listeria innocua and Pseudomonas lundensis in a meat simulation medium. The agar diffusion assay revealed that both geraniol and linalool had a potent antimicrobial activity against all bacteria. Dynamic light scattering showed that geraniol and linalool nanoemulsions had a mean diameter of 68.22±2.46 and 173.59±4.15 nm, respectively. Killing assay results showed that both nanoemulsions were able to significantly reduce E. coli and L. innocua counts by approx. 3 log CFU/ml. Ps. lundensis proved to be more resistant to both nanoemulsions showing a reduction of approx. 1.2 log CFU/ml,. Overall, this study showed that nanoemulsions loaded with geraniol or linalool represent a promising antimicrobial system to improve food preservation and food safety.