AUTHOR=Sorrentino Elena , Tremonte Patrizio , Succi Mariantonietta , Iorizzo Massimo , Pannella Gianfranco , Lombardi Silvia Jane , Sturchio Marina , Coppola Raffaele 

TITLE=Detection of Antilisterial Activity of 3-Phenyllactic Acid Using Listeria innocua as a Model

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2018

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01373

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2018.01373

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=The 3-Phenyllactic acid (PLA) produced by various lactic acid bacteria possesses a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. In this study, the effect of PLA against Listeria innocua was studied with the aim to obtain additional information about its mechanism of action. The effect of pH on anti-Listeria activity of PLA was investigated and a pH-dependent behaviour, typical of weak acid, was detected. The antilisterial effect of PLA was firstly compared to that produced by lactic acid and than to that expressed by phenolic acids (gallic, caffeic and ferulic acids) evaluating MIC, MBC and survival kinetic parameters. PLA showed MIC values and death kinetic parameters significantly different from those exhibited by lactic acid and by tested phenolic acids. In particular, the MIC value observed for PLA vs L. innocua resulted lower than that of the other preservative compounds studied herein, and consistent with the quantity generally produced by lactic acid bacteria. Moreover, the effect of PLA and phenolic acids on bacterial surface charge and loss of cellular content resulted different. The overall results highlighted strong differences in the antilisterial mechanism of action among PLA and other compounds such as lactic acid and phenols. Specifically, it is possible to hypothesize that the antilisterial mechanism of action due to PLA is associated with the affinity to cell surface, which contributes to the cellular damage.