FOOD SCIENCE ›› 2018, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (6): 95-100.doi: 10.7506/spkx1002-6630-201806016

• Bioengineering • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Antimicrobial Activity and Mechanism of Lactic Acid on Enterobacter cloacae

WANG Fengting1,2, SUN Zhilan2, WU Haihong2, XU Xiaoxi1,*, LIU Fang2,*, WANG Daoying2, GENG Zhiming2, ZHU Yongzhi2, XU Weimin2   

  1. (1. College of Food Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China;2. Institute of Agricultural Products Processing, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China)
  • Online:2018-03-25 Published:2018-03-14

Abstract: The antimicrobial activity of lactic acid (LA) against a dominant strain of Enterobacter cloacae isolated from spoiled frozen chicken was examined in the study. The results showed that all the selected LA solutions (1.0%, 0.5%, and 0.25%) had bactericidal action against E. cloacae. The cell membrane potential and the leakage of intracellular ATP and ultraviolet-absorbing substances were increased in cells treated with 1.0% LA. The treated cells showed an irregular morphology under transmission electron microscope (TEM); furthermore, the cell wall was damaged and the intracellular contents were leaked out. The permeability of the cytoplasmic membrane was increased as shown by laser scanning confocal microscope and flow cytometry. Therefore, the bactericidal effect of LA against E. cloacae was mainly mediated by damaging the cell wall and consequently increasing the cell membrane permeability, thereby leading to leakage of the intracellular components.

Key words: lactic acid, Enterobacter cloacae, antibacterial mechanism

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