Characterisation of Staphylococcus aureus strains from milk and goat cheese and evaluation of their inhibition by gallic acid, nisin and velame of the Brazilian caatinga

Abstract

Twenty isolates from milk and goat cheese were confirmed as Staphylococcus aureus. These isolates were characterised for phenotypic properties related to cell adhesion and for the presence of enterotoxin production, intercellular adhesion and β‐lactam resistance genes. Staphylococcus aureus L47 showed cell adhesion ability and positivity for the sec, sed, icaD, mecA and blaZ genes. Three antimicrobial compounds were tested singly or in pairs for growth control of strain L47: gallic acid (GA), nisin and essential oil (EO) of Croton heliotropiifolius (velame). At 24 h, EO and EO + nisin showed higher inhibitory activity against S. aureus L47 in goat milk.