et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License -NonCommercial- ShareAlike Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/). Application of Mentha suaveolens essential oil as an antimicrobial agent in fresh turkey sausages Abdelaziz Ed-Dra 1 , Fouzia Rhazi Filai 1 *, Mohamed Bou-Idra 2 , Badr Zekkori 2 , Aziz Bouymajane 1 , Najia Moukrad 1 , Faouzia Benhallam 1 , Amar Bentayeb 2 1 Department of Biology, Team of Microbiology and Health, Laboratory of Chemistry-Biology Applied to the Environment, Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Sciences, BP. 11201 Zitoune Meknes, Morocco, 2 Department of Chemistry , Team of Physical-Chemistry of Condensed Matter, Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Sciences, BP. 11201 Zitoune Meknes, Morocco ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to evaluate the antimicrobial effect of Mentha suaveolens essential oil against pathogenic bacteria in fresh turkey sausages. The essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation. The antibacterial activity was carried out by agar diffusion and microplates methods against Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Streptococcus faecalis. The antioxidant activity was carried out by ferric reducing antioxidant power and free radical scavenging activities against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. The antimicrobial effect on sausages was conducted by the enumeration of S. aureus and E. coli during the storage period of fresh sausages manufactured with different concentrations of essential oil. The results showed that the essential oil of M. suaveolens has an antibacterial effect against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria in addition to its antioxidant activity (EC 50 = 3.95 ± 0.03 mg/mL and IC 50 = 3.11 ± 0.02 mg/mL). Moreover, the addition of essential oil to fresh sausages has a significant effect against the tested pathogenic bacteria. The present data clearly demonstrate that the essential oil of M. suaveolens has a remarkable antimicrobial and antioxidant activities and can be used as a food additive to extend the shelf life of food products. 1. INTRODUCTION Sausage is a processed meat product, consists of chopped meat, water, binders, and seasonings, stuffed into natural or artificial casings. Its manufacture involves a number of handling steps, which increase the chances of its contamination by pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella…) through the contaminated raw meat, ingredients, processing equipment, and from postprocessing contamination [1]. These pathogens have also been detected in raw meat and have been shown to survive certain sausage manufacturing processes [2-4]; also, they are implicated in a large number of foodborne diseases outbreaks [5,6]. Moreover, the fresh sausage does not undergo heat treatment and has a high water activity giving it a short shelf life and subjecting it directly to the action of the microorganisms. The manufacturers of sausages use the synthetic food conservatives to extend its shelf life, but these latter are limited in several countries because of their undesirable effects on health. For this reason, the use of natural additives is a primordial perspective to improve the bacteriological and organoleptic quality of food. Furthermore, the use of aromatic plants is a best choice with double effects; it contributes to the valorization of plant heritage of the regions threatened by poverty and provides the biological substances capable of replacing artificial ones. Some studies have shown that the treatment of sausages with essential oils makes it possible to inhibit the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria and to extend the shelf life of this product [7-9]. In Morocco, the Aromatic and Medicinal Plants sector records a sharp socioeconomic growth in recent years. It is one of the richest phytobiological fields in the world due to its diversity: 4200 species of plants including 800 endemics among them 382 species are known for their medicinal and/or aromatic use [10,11]. The genus Mentha is one of the important elements of Lamiaceae family; it is represented by 19 species and 13 natural hybrids [12]. Among its species include Mentha suaveolens which located in North Africa, Europe, America, and Japan [13]. This plant has a wide range of benefits: Analgesic, stomachic, choleretic, tonic, carminative action, antispasmodic, hypotensive, sedative, insecticide, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antimicrobials, acetylcholinesterase, and monoamine Journal of Applied Biology & Biotechnology Vol. 6(1), pp. 7-12, Jan-Feb, 2018 Available online at http://www.jabonline.in DOI: 10.7324/JABB.2018.60102 ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received on: June 20, 2017 Accepted on: September 23, 2017 Available online: January 17, 2018 Key words: Mentha suaveolens, Essential oil, Antibacterial activity, Food preservation, Fresh sausage *Corresponding Author Fouzia Rhazi Filai, Team of Microbiology and Health, Laboratory of Chemistry-Biology Applied to the Environment, Moulay Ismail University, Faculty of Sciences, BP. 11201 Zitoune Meknes, Morocco. Tel: +212664488238. Email: Fouzia.filali@yahoo.fr © 2018 Abdelaziz Ed-Dra,