Biocidal Effects of Some Aromatic Plants on the Production of Traditional Lavas Cheese

The aim of this study was to determine the biocidal effects of some aromatic plants used in traditional lavas cheese production. Within the scope of the study, five different types of lavas cheese were experimentally produced from cow milk with traditional production technique, including black cumin (Nigella sativa), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), pepper (Capsicum annuum), purple basil (Ocimum basilicum) and plain. The produced cheeses were analyzed on the 2nd day after production and on the 16th day after the brine stage in terms of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, fecal coliform, and E. coli by conventional culture method. According to the results of microbiological analysis, on the 2nd day of production, the total number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria microorganisms, fecal coliforms and E. coli counts were; 8.04, 4.98 and 3.38 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with black cumin; 8.76, 4.62 and 4.47 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with thyme; 8.41, 4.60 and 4.77 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with pepper; 8.71, 4.11 and 4.04 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with purple basil; 8.82, 4.62 and 4.92 log10 cfu/g in plain cheese samples while on the 16th day of storage 7.39, 3.07 and 3.17 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with black cumin; 7.59, 3.98 and 3.96 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with thyme; 7.30, 2.00 and 2.69 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with pepper; 7.38, 2.69 and 3.38 log10 cfu/g in cheese samples with purple basil; 7.07, 2.47 and 2.84 log10 cfu/g in plain cheese samples, respectively. In this study, no difference was found in the microorganism load between lavas cheese samples produced with orwithout aromatic plant additions. As a result, it was concluded that aromatic plants used in this study did not have any biocidal effect on microorganisms found in traditional lavas cheese samples