Further analysis of the antimicrobial activity of α-phenylseleno citronellal and α-phenylseleno citronellol

In this work we performed studies on the antimicrobial activities of α-phenylseleno citronellal and α-phenylseleno citronellol, two new selenium-containing citronella oil derivatives. The presence of phenylselenium group in the citronellal molecule increased antimicrobial activity, as compared to a natural, unsubstituted terpene. We assessed the antimicrobial activity of each compound against three important species of foodborne pathogenic bacteria: Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella Typhimurium, using the agar diffusion method and by measuring the minimum inhibitory concentration, all the tested compounds showed antimicrobial activity against the three bacteria used. The modified aldehyde showed good values of a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.03 mM and antimicrobial activity against Salmonella Typhimurium at 6.400 arbitrary units per milliliter (AU/mL). The identification of the antimicrobial properties of compounds derived from citronella suggests that the use of these substances to protect food against pathogenic bacteria deserves further exploration.

► α-Phenylseleno citronellal and α-phenylseleno citronellol are antimicrobial agents. ► Growing of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium and S. aureus was inhibited. ► The selenium-derivative was more active that unmodified citronellal. ► α-Phenylseleno citronellal shows a MIC of 0.03 mM against Salmonella Typhimurium.