Original title: Antimicrobial Properties and Mechanism of Action of Some Plant Extracts Against Food Pathogens and Spoilage Microorganisms
The researchers tested water and alcohol extracts from four plants against food-related bacteria and a fungus. They measured whether the extracts stopped microbes from growing, and how much extract was needed. In two kinds of bacteria, the extracts lowered the cells’ internal pH and changed the electrical state of their outer membrane. The effects differed by plant and microbe: for example, roselle extract affected the tested bacteria but not the fungus.
Imagine trying to keep a kitchen clean when different stains respond to different cleaners. One cleaner may remove a stain but leave another untouched, and too little may make no difference. In this paper, the plant extracts are the cleaners, and the different microbes are the stains; the researchers also check whether the extracts disturb the microbes’ inner balance and outer boundary.
Food producers need ways to control harmful bacteria and spoilage, and plant extracts may offer one option for food preservation. The results also show that extracts did not affect every microbe in the same way: roselle worked against the tested bacteria but not the tested fungus.
The abstract reports tests on selected microbes and plant extracts, with detailed cell-mechanism measurements only in Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. It does not establish how well the extracts preserve actual foods, what doses are safe in food, or whether they are safe under practical use conditions.
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Antimicrobial Properties and Mechanism of Action of Some Plant Extracts Against Food Pathogens and Spoilage Microorganisms — Faraja Gonelimali, Jiheng Lin, Wenhua Miao et al. — Frontiers in Microbiology — doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.01639
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.