Abstract
Shikimic acid (SA) has been reported to possess antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, whereas the mode of action of SA is still elusive. In this study, the antibacterial activity and mechanism of SA toward S. aureus by cell membrane damage was investigated. After SA treatment, massive K+ and nucleotide leakage from S. aureus, and a significant change in the membrane potential was observed, suggesting SA may act on the membrane by destroying the cell membrane permeability. Through transmission electron microscopic observations we further confirmed that SA can disrupt the cell membrane and membrane integrity. Meanwhile, SA was found to be capable of reducing the membrane fluidity of the S. aureus cell. Moreover, the fluorescence experiments indicated that SA could quench fluorescence of Phe residues of the membrane proteins, thus demonstrating that SA can bind to S. aureus membrane proteins. Therefore, these results showed the antibacterial activity of SA against S. aureus could be caused by the interactions of SA with S. aureus membrane proteins and lipids, resulting in causing cell membrane dysfunction and bacterial damage or even death. This study reveals the potential use of SA as an antibacterial agent.
Highlights
Severe foodborne disease and intoxications are a widespread and growing public health problem [1]
The antibacterial mechanism of Shikimic acid (SA) to S. aureus was investigated by examining membrane permeability, membrane potential, membrane integrity, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), membrane fluidity and membrane protein binding assays
Based on the data obtained, it could be concluded that the antimicrobial effect of SA against S. aureus is attributed to its action of SA to S. aureus cell membrane, which increases S. aureus cell membrane permeability and destroys the membrane integrity, eventually inducing growth inhibition and bacterial death
Summary
Severe foodborne disease and intoxications are a widespread and growing public health problem [1]. Nowadays, this problem has caused more attentions of governments and food industry than a few decades ago. Foodborne disease is one of the major causes of illness and death, and about 48 million cases of foodborne diseases are estimated to occur each year in the United States [2,3]. Staphylococcal foodborne disease is a common and major foodborne disease worldwide [4]. Staphylococcus aureus is a significant pathogen for foodborne disease, and caused many people illness and death every year [3]. The control of this pathogen is a major concern for people and food industry
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