Abstract
The chemical composition and antimicrobial mechanism of action of black pepper chloroform extract (BPCE) were investigated, as well as the potential antibacterial activities of BPCE against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results showed that 1H-Cycloprop[e]azulen-7-ol, decahydro-1,1,7-trimethyl-4-methylene-, [1ar-(1aα,4aα,7β,7a,β,7bα.)]- (8.39%) and 2-methylene-4,8,8-trimethyl-4-vinyl-bicyclo[5.2.0]nonane (6.92%) were identified as the two primary components of BPCE. The release of intracellular transaminases from bacteria after being incubated with BPCE revealed that the bacterial cell walls and membranes were degraded and that protein synthesis was inhibited to some extent. The inhibition of bacterial Na+/K+-ATPase activity upon the addition of BPCE also indicated an enhanced permeability of bacterial cell membranes. Moreover, an analysis of hexokinase and pyruvate kinase activities showed that BPCE affected the metabolic rate of glycolysis and disrupted the normal metabolism of bacteria. This phenomenon was supported by an observed accumulation of lactic acid (LA) in the treated bacterial cells. Overall, our results indicated that BPCE damaged bacterial cell walls and membranes, which was followed by a disruption of bacterial cell respiration.
Highlights
Natural antimicrobial agents are increasingly being used in food industries because of the serious health risks that chemical preservatives pose [1]
We previously explored the optimum extraction process for black pepper using chloroform and investigated the inhibitory effects and minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) of black pepper chloroform extract (BPCE) against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus
The current results indicated that the overall cellular structure was damaged by the leakage of transaminase, which may have been caused by BPCE
Summary
Natural antimicrobial agents are increasingly being used in food industries because of the serious health risks that chemical preservatives pose [1]. Plant essential oils exhibit various antibacterial activities. Essential oils from oregano, thyme, and marjoram contain many active compounds that have good antimicrobial activities against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria [2, 3]. China is very rich in endogenous aromatic and medicinal plants, which are used as natural health care products in traditional medicine. Black pepper has been commonly used as spice in cooking. Black pepper is highly valued in folk medicine because of its antibacterial and physiological benefits, in treating pain, the flu, muscle aches, and rheumatism [6,7,8]
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