## 2 Results and Discussion
### Chemical Composition of the Extracts After Derivatization
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline \(\mathbf{N}^{\circ}\) & **Component** & **Paprika (\%)** & **Baklouti (\%)** \\ \hline
1 & dimethyl sulfone & 6.0 \(\pm\) 0.07 & 4.9 \(\pm\) 0.06 \\
2 & mercaptoethanol & - & 0.6 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\
3 & 1,4-dithiane & 3.0 \(\pm\) 0.03 & 1.4 \(\pm\) 0.04 \\
4 & benzothiazole & 2.2 \(\pm\) 0.04 & tr \\
5 & ethene, 1,2-bis(methylthio)- & 3.5 \(\pm\) 0.05 & 3.1 \(\pm\) 0.05 \\
6 & 2-phenylethylanthiol & 0.5 \(\pm\) 0.03 & 0.2 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\
7 & disulfide, methyl(methylthio)methyl- & 2.4 \(\pm\) 0.02 & 2.2 \(\pm\) 0.07 \\
8 & 2,3-butanediol & - & 0.7 \(\pm\) 0.03 \\
9 & glycerol & - & 4.9 \(\pm\) 0.08 \\
10 & glyceric acid & - & 0.5 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\
11 & tagatofuranose & - & 0.4 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\
12 & sorbotofuranose & - & 0.9 \(\pm\) 0.05 \\
13 & D-fructofuranose & - & 2.4 \(\pm\) 0.06 \\
14 & D-mannitol & - & 0.7 \(\pm\) 0.02 \\
15 & D-sorbitol & - & 2.1 \(\pm\) 0.06 \\
16 & galactopyranose & - & 1.4 \(\pm\) 0.04 \\
17 & palmitic acid & 22.7 \(\pm\) 1.82 & 10.0 \(\pm\) 0.80 \\
18 & linoleic acid & 12.3 \(\pm\) 0.92 & 9.0 \(\pm\) 0.70 \\
19 & oleic acid & 46.8 \(\pm\) 3.11 & 54.5 \(\pm\) 5.30 \\ \hline  & SUM & 99.5 & 99.9 \\ \hline  & Sulfur Compounds & 17.6 & 12.4 \\  & Fatty Acids & 81.8 & 73.5 \\  & Sugars & - & 5.1 \\  & Sugar acids & - & 0.5 \\  & Sugar alcohols & - & 7.7 \\  & Others & - & 0.7 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: Chemical composition (percentage mean values \(\pm\) standard deviation) of the extracts after derivatization as determined by GC/MS. chain, or by previous contacts with herbs and spices in food products [42]. Considering the strains' response in the presence of DMSO, Baklouti and Paprika extracts showed the best antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, such as _L. monocytogenes_ and _S. aureus_, in accordance with previous results [43]. In particular, _S. aureus_ ATCC 43300 was inhibited by the Paprika extract employed at the lowest concentration (0.39 mg/mL). The Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) results (Table 5) corroborated the behavior observed for the MICs after 24 and 48 h. _L. monocytogenes_ and _S. aureus_ are common foodborne pathogens which can contaminate a wide variety of fresh (milk, seafood, meat and vegetables) and processed food products [44]. Thus, the antimicrobial activity exerted by Baklouti and Paprika extracts against the two pathogens could contribute to the control of the microbial growth in different food products. The good antimicrobial properties of both extracts can be attributed to the bioactive compounds revealed in the extracts and in the dried powder samples. Sulfur compounds play an important role as an antibacterial agent [45]; in particular, dimethyl sulfone has been shown to have an antibacterial effect against _Escherichia coli_ (MDRE21) and _Salmonella enterica_ Kinshasa (SK132) [46] as well as against vancomycin-resistant _Enterococcus faecium_[47]. The determined antimicrobial activity may also be influenced by the fatty acid-based chemical composition; in fact, the unsaturated fatty acids have been documented to be strong antimicrobial compounds [48]. Their mechanism of action includes membrane destabilization, increased permeability, disruption of the electron transport chain and inhibition of some membrane-associated enzymes. In particular, unsaturated fatty acids, including oleic and linoleic, significantly inhibit glucosyltransferase (GTase), an essential transmembrane protein that facilitates glucan synthesis in bacterial cells [49]. Other authors also reported the antimicrobial effectiveness of oleic acid against Gram-positive bacteria including _S. aureus_[50]. Finally, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes detected in the powder peppers exert antibacterial power. In detail, the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antibioticofilm properties of carvone, limonene and linalool have been documented by [PERSON] et al. [51] and [PERSON] et al. [52] against several bacterial and fungal species, with _S. aureus_ and _L. monocytogenes_ being the most sensitive.