Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the antibacterial effect of caffeine on the behavior and changes in cell morphology of E. coli O157:H7 in a liquid medium and in skim milk. The inhibitory effect of caffeine at different concentrations was determined by inoculating E. coli O157:H7 in laboratory medium and skim milk samples. Samples were incubated at 37ºC for 48 h, and E. coli O157:H7 population was enumerated. Our results showed that caffeine significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited the growth of E. coli O157:H7 in laboratory medium and milk samples. A greater than 3.0 log CFU ml−1 inhibition was observed in milk containing 5.0 g/L caffeine within 12 h of incubation. Moreover, using flow cytometry, marked changes in the morphology of E. coli O157:H7 were also observed. Caffeine has potential as an antimicrobial agent and could be used as an effective natural additive to improve the safety of food products.
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