Camelina sativa oil can inhibit Campylobacter jejuni but stimulate lactic acid bacteria growth

Abstract

Camelina (Camelina sativa L. Crantz) or false flax is an oil crop from the Brassicaceae family. Camelina oil has multiple uses, of which the best known is biofuel production. A motivation for this study was the oil’s high content of omega -3, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, which are known to have an antimicrobial effect. Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of human foodborne gastroenteritis in the world. We tested the potential antimicrobial effect of free fatty acids (FFA) from camelina oil against lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Campylobacter. The in vitro results show that the free fatty acids from camelina oil reduces levels of Campylobacter spp. and increases the levels of LAB showing a potential use of camelina oil as a natural