Effects of the components of two antimicrobial emulsions on food-borne pathogens

Several recent reports in the literature show that some microemulsions and nanoemulsions have interesting antimicrobial properties. However, those studies lacked appropriate controls showing the action of the isolated components at similar concentrations. In this study we demonstrate that the bactericidal effects of two previously studied emulsions are due predominantly to one of their components. In fact, the bioactivity of those compounds, namely tributyl phosphate and n-pentanol, is diminished when incorporated in the dispersed oil phases. Therefore, we suggest that future work regarding the antimicrobial action of emulsions include controls similar to the ones carried out in this research.