This event was observed in all treatments evaluated. In the microbiological control evaluated (mortadella without target microorganism), C. perfringens counts were not detected during all the storage time, showing non-interference in the observed results. The extraction yield value of S. montana EO was similar to that found by Ćavar et al. (2008). However the yield found Verteporfin mouse in our study was lower than the yield reported by the following groups: Bezbradica et al., 2005, Mastelić and Jerković, 2003 and Radonic and Milos, 2003. The phytochemical profile found for the winter savory EO in this study

was in agreement with the results observed by several authors who have also evaluated this vegetal specie ( Radonic and Milos, 2003, Skočibušić and Bezić, 2003, Mastelić and Jerković, 2003 and Silva et al., 2009). In contrast, the savory EO evaluated by Ćavar et al. (2008) was characterized by a high content of alcohols, such as geraniol and terpinen-4-ol. The final composition of EO is genetically influenced with specificity to the following factors: each organ and its stage of development; climatic conditions of the plant collection site; degree of terrain hydration; level of macronutrients and micronutrients;

and drying conditions to which the plant material is exposed to ( Burt, 2004 and Bakkali et al., 2008). Slavkovska et al., 2001 and Mirjana and Nada, 2004 reported the chemical HDAC phosphorylation variability of S. montana EO according to factors like plant stage of development and different geographic locations. The antimicrobial properties of winter savory EO are related to the presence of its major chemical compounds, such as thymol and cravacrol in the EO fraction ( Mirjana and Nada, 2004 and Radonic and Milos, 2003). The formation of growth inhibition

zones on the tested growth bacterial cultures showed the antimicrobial effect of S. montana EO. The MIC is cited by most researchers as the measure of performance of antibacterial EOs ( Burt, aminophylline 2004). Considering the large number of different groups of chemical compounds present in EOs, it is likely that their antibacterial activity is not attributable to one specific mechanism but to several targets in the cell. An important characteristic of EOs is their hydrophobicity, which allows the accumulation and partition of the lipids in bacterial cell membranes modifying their structure, distorting the lipid/protein interactions and disturbing their function ( Juven et al., 1994, Sikkema et al., 1994 and Sikkema et al., 1995). The loss of differential permeability of the cytoplasmatic membrane is considered the cause of cell death.