Influence of application sequence and timing of eugenol and lauric arginate (LAE) on survival of spoilage organisms

- Sequential application of eugenol and LAE was less effective than a simultaneous one.
- Treatments became increasingly less effective the later a second antimicrobial was added.
- Cells adapted to the first applied antimicrobial thereby providing protection against the second one.

The effectiveness of sequential applications of the antimicrobials eugenol and lauric arginate (LAE) was investigated against Staphylococcus carnosus, Listeria innocua, Escherichia coli K12, and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The antimicrobials were applied simultaneously at half of their minimum lethal concentrations (MLC) or sequentially at t = 0 h and t = 3, 4, 6 or 8 h. Bacterial survival was determined by direct plate counts. Survivals kinetic were fitted to a growth and mortality model to obtain characteristic parameters that described time-dependent changes from growth to mortality or vice versa. The most effective was a simultaneous exposure of both antimicrobials to the spoilage organisms at the beginning of the incubation period. Efficiency decreases depending on order and timing of the two antimicrobials were observed upon sequential treatments. These were most effective when antimicrobials where applied within a short time period (3-4 h) and when eugenol was first applied against S. carnosus and P. fluorescens. No sequence effects were observed for L. innocua, and sequential treatments proved to be ineffective against E. coli K12. These results were attributed to cells adapting to the first applied antimicrobial. In some cases, this provided protection against the second antimicrobial rendering the overall treatment less effective.