Evaluation of synergistic preservative effect of cinnamaldehyde and citralagainst yeast in milk and Lassi

The aim of present study was to assess the potentials of enhancing the inhibitory effect of combined application of cinnamaldehyde, eugenol and citral on the growth of food spoilage yeasts using fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index in laboratory media and time-kill assay in a food model. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of cinnamaldehyde, eugenol and citral were 0.125, 0.5 and 0.5 µL/mL, respectively. The FIC indices of combinations assessed showed that cinnamaldehyde and citral combination exhibit synergistic interaction and no difference was found among other combinations tested. The combined effect observed was validated in skim milk and Lassi against the most common yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The tested mixture demonstrated stronger anti-yeast activity by completely inhibiting of the growth when compared to control. These results demonstrated potential of green chemistry as an alternate to chemical preservative to prevent yeast spoilage of milk and fermented milk products to improve microbiological stability of dairy products useful to meet expectations of consumers.