Essential Oils and Bacteriocin-Based Active Edible Coating: An Innovative, Natural and Sustainable Approach for the Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Seafoods

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 

In this article, Messi and coworkers, investigate the anti-Listeria properties of essential oils and bacteriocin.  This study seems worthy of consideration of publication.  Below are some major and minor issues that need addressed before publication.  

 

Abstract:

1.     Undefined terms.  Defining the following terms will help the reader understand your abstract.

a.     “EO/EO”

b.     FICI

2.     The sentence, “The EO/EO association showed to act synergistically even when incorporated into the coating, with a significant reduction in the amount of EOs (10-20 times) to be used, improving the organoleptic impact of the compounds,” needs to be rewritten for clarity.

3.     In the last line of the abstract has the statement, “but it also mitigates even more the strong smell of EOs.” This seems to link the bioactivity function of the EOs in the coating with a secondary advantage of reducing the smell of the EOs.  I’d suggest breaking the sentence apart and be sure to state that you are comparing the smell to using the EOs in a different manner.

4.     Keywords.  Should “shrimps” be “shrimp”?

 

Introduction

1.     The manuscript has 11 lines at the beginning of the introduction without a citation.  The first citation is at the end of line 12.  Please add citations for your first sentence which sets up why the study is necessary.

2.     In the first sentence, you use the term “less and less,” I’d recommend changing this language to something that is less conversational in tone. 

3.     The introduction of biofilms in confusing as it is in the middle of a sentence that appears to be unrelated.

4.     “lactic acid bacteria (bacteriocins)” Move (bacteriocins) to after biomolecules and then go ahead and give the abbreviation for the lactic acid bacteria (LAB).

5.     Missing citation, “The discovery of inhibitory activity of EOs against human pathogens, has also led to the development of numerous studies on their mode of action, and on the interaction with microbial cell membranes.”

6.     The manuscript states, “This structure is the main target of the EOs, and its damage is the main cause of the inhibition of the growth of some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.”  What structure are you referring to?  Please clarify this statement.

7.     Missing citation, “Moreover, several categories of natural antimicrobial compounds found in plant, spices, and herbs or produced by LAB have been incorporated into edible films and coatings, resulting in an improvement of their bioactive properties.”

8.     The last paragraph of the introduction is 1 sentence.  Please revise into single ideas.  I’d also recommend that you expand more on introducing your study.

 

Material and Methods

1.     Missing citation??  Citation formatting.  “(Tardugno et al., 2018; .......)”

2.     Tables 1-4 should be in the results and each table’s results should be discussed. Explain the numbers in your tables.  Why are there more than 1 line of data on Tables 2-4? Why are there plus signs on the data? 

3.     How were the FICIs used to choose the EO/EOs?

4.     Term EO/EO is still undefined.

 

Results

1.     Figures.  Make Figures 1-3 black and white friendly by using different patterns along with the different colors for your bars.

2.     Figures general.  Make your letters (a), (b), (c), etc. large enough to be seen.  Keep them at least a 10 font size.

3.     Figure 1, why is the Citrus lemon yellow and the other 3 green?  Is there a meaning to the colors?

4.     Figure 2, same question as figure 1.  Why are there different colors for your EO data?  If there is a meaning to the colors, please explain it.  If there is no meaning, please use the same color for all of the EO data.  

5.     Figure 3, same question about the colors.

 

 

General

1.     The manuscript has many VERY long sentences that make it harder for the reader to understand.  Please revise these statements to make it easier to understand.  Example, “The persistence of L. monocytogenes in food processing plants is an important factor both in the transmission of this foodborne pathogen and in the contamination of foods and food associated environments and, in this context, a primary role is played by the biofilm [8,9], a microbial community where microorganisms found both nutrients for growth and protection from different adverse conditions (Prakash et al., 2003; Garret et al., 2008), including preservation treatments[10,11].”

2.     In-text citations, you have a mix of APA/MLA style citations and the MDPI numbered citations.  Please ensure that all in-text citations match the MDPI format.

3.     Paragraphs should not be a page long. 

4.     Check for and remove extra spaces in your headings.

5.     If you are using numbered subheadings in section 3, you should also use them in section 2.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We would like first thanks for your useful comments and suggestions.

We have modified the submission accordingly and detailed corrections are listed below point by point.

We have highlighted all changes (yellow) in the text, whereas the responses to reviewer are written in red (see below).

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

My comments to the authors are enclosed in the attached pdf file.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We would like first thanks for your useful comments and suggestions.

We have modified the submission accordingly and detailed corrections are listed below point by point.

We have highlighted all changes (yellow) in the text, whereas the responses to reviewer are written in red (see below).

Author Response File: Author Response.docx