In vitro and in vivo characterization of the antibacterial activity and membrane damage mechanism of quinic acid against Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of quinic acid (QA) and elucidated its membrane action mechanism against Staphylococcus aureus. In vitro antibacterial assay showed that QA effectively inhibited the growth of test bacteria. In model food systems of cabbage suspension and barley soup, QA possessed a great antibacterial capacity. The membrane hyperpolarization and a decrease of membrane fluidity demonstrated a significant effect of QA on damaging the normal functions of cell membrane, which was further validated by the observation of the transmission electron microscope. The interaction of QA with Phe residues in the membrane protein was revealed by fluorescence quenching. Overall, the present study illustrates QA as a potent antibacterial agent and its inhibition action on S. aureus by damaging the cell membrane. Practical applicationsIn model food systems of cabbage suspension and barley soup, QA possessed a great antibacterial capacity to control the total counts of viable bacteria. This study provided the theoretical foundations for the application of QA in foods to prevent the growth of foodborne pathogens. | I NTR OD U CTI ONCurrently, food safety problems triggered by pathogenic microorganism have been a considerable concern of the international community. It has been reported that in the United States, about 48 million of populations suffered from foodborne diseases caused by 31 major kinds of pathogenic microorganism, leading to a great number of economic loss (Miao et al., 2016; Scallan et al., 2011). The major foodborne bacteria include Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes (Scallan et al., 2011). Among these widespread foodborne pathogens, S. aureus is a significant one, which can cause a series of diseases such as osteomyelitis, pneumonia, endocarditis, and sepsis (Rozemeijer et al., 2015).S. aureus is widely distributed in air, water, dust, and the waste of human and animals. Moreover, S. aureus can survive in different foodstuffs over a wide range of temperatures (10-458C), pHs (4.5-9.3), and NaCl concentrations (up to 15%) (Tango, Hong, Wang, & Oh, 2015).These characteristics make it easy to facilitate the bacterial contamination of foods during the process of manufacturing, package, storage, and circulation. Therefore, the development strategies to suppress the growth of this pathogen in foods and improve shelf-life and food quality, which contribute to reducing the frequency of illness, are of great interest and challenge (Miao et al., 2016).Some conventional physical treatments have been applied to control and kill bacteria, including thermal inactivation, high pressure, and normal cooking (Shi et al., 2016). Although bacteria can be killed by these methods, the heat-resistant enterotoxins can persist, leading to staphylococcal food poisoning, and some physical treatments can cause adverse effects on the food quality (Tango et al., 2015). In addition to the physical tre...

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Evaluation of phenolic constituent, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of sugarcane molasses towards foodborne pathogens

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