Table 3.

Synergistic antibacterial effects of thyme and cloves essential oils in binary combination against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus food isolates.

Bacterial Isolate	Binary Combinations	Individual FIC	FIC Index (FICI)	Interaction Interpretation
E. coli mC1	thy-EO + cl-EO	0.500–0.130	0.630	synergy
S. aureus mC2	thy-EO + cl-EO	0.500–0.330	0.830	synergy

Thy-EO, thyme essential oil; cl-EO, cloves essential oil; FIC, fractional inhibitory concentration, FICI, fractional inhibitory concentration index; FICI ≤ 1.00, synergy; 1.00 < FICI ≤ 4.00, indifference; FICI > 4.00, antagonism.