# The Effect of Ethanol Propolis Extracts on Inhibition of Growth of _Fusarium solani_ on Hen Eggs
## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Effect of Coating Hen Eggs with Propolis Extract on Inhibition of F. solani  
Changes in the number of _F. solani_ ATCC 36031 on the shells of inoculated eggs are shown in Figure 1. The initial mold count was 4.24 log CFU/g. After 1 h in the control group (EC) the number of molds did not change, while on the coated eggs (from E + P1 to E + P10) a decrease in the number of molds was observed. The higher the concentration of propolisis extract, the greater was the reduction in the number of molds on eggshells. For groups E + P1 and E + P2, the number of molds decreased by only about one log cycle. In the E + P3 group, the number of fungi decreased by 1.80 log cycles, and in the E + P5 group by 2.41 log cycles. The number of _F. solani_ decreased to the greatest extent in the group of E + P10 eggs by 3.24 log cycles, i.e., to the detection limit of fungi, and remained at that level for 28 days. After 7 days, the number of _F. solani_ decreased in all groups of eggs, with groups E + P1, E + P2 and E + P3 decreasing by 2.87, 2.72 and 2.80 log cycles, respectively, from the initial number. In the case of eggs coated with 5% propolisis extract, the number of molds decreased to the limit of detection, i.e., by 3.24 log cycles. No mold growth was found in group E + P10. In the control group, the number of _F. solani_ decreased by 2.13 log cycles. After 14 days of storage, no mold growth was observed on uncoated and coated hen eggs. Our observations show that the activity against the _Fusarium_ strain on hen eggs depends on the concentration of propolisis extract. In higher concentrations, propolisis extract inhibits the germination of _Fusarium_ spores, preventing mold growth on eggshells. Similar conclusions were reached by [PERSON] et al. [23], who observed complete inhibition of mycotoxic mold strains (_Aspergillus versicolor_ and _Penicillium aurantiogriseum_) by 10% and partial inhibition of their growth by 5% and 1% Turkish propolisis extract. Although propolisis has so far been used to a small extent for the microbiological protection of table eggs, the first results are encouraging. [PERSON] et al. [37], by coating table quail eggs with a layer of rice protein with propolisis extract, reduced the number of microorganisms present on the eggshells, similarly to [PERSON] et al. [36], who completely eliminated _Salmonella_ from the surface of hen eggs by coating them with chitosan with propolisis extract. The use of a  
Figure 1: Changes in the number of _F. solani_ on hen eggshells during 28 days after inoculation. Treatments: EC—control hen eggs, E + P1–E + P10 coated hen eggs with 1–10% with ethanol propolisis extract at concentrations of 1–10%. coating of sweet potato starch with thyme essential oil also gave good results and reduced the growth of _Salmonella_ on eggshell [45], and chitosan emulsion with beeswax and basil essential oil reduced the number of native bacteria on the eggshell surface [46]. A composite coating, which included cassava starch, carboxymethyl cellulose and paraffin, protects eggs against microbiological contamination [47]. Other methods of disinfection for edible and hatching eggs are also the subject of extensive research worldwide [3]. The number of microorganisms was reduced by chemical disinfection of eggs, e.g., sodium hydroxide and phenols [48; 49], benzalkonium chloride with glutaraldehyde [50], electrolyzed oxidizing (EO) water [51], chlorine dioxide gas [52], silver-stabilized hydrogen peroxide [53], and neutral anolyte [54]. In addition, the effectiveness of physical and combined methods in egg disinfection has been demonstrated, e.g., ultraviolet (UV) irradiation [55], pulsed light [56], nonthermal plasma [57; 58], UV light and hydrogen peroxide [59], ultrasonic waves with refrigerated temperature [60], ultrasonic waves with heat treatment [61] and high-intensity ultrasound [62].