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. 2017 Oct 23;26(5):1423-1428.
doi: 10.1007/s10068-017-0164-5. eCollection 2017.

Antimicrobial effect of a combination of herb extract and organic acid against Bacillus subtilis spores

Won-Il Cho  1 , Myong-Soo Chung  2
Affiliations

Antimicrobial effect of a combination of herb extract and organic acid against Bacillus subtilis spores

Won-Il Cho et al. Food Sci Biotechnol. .

Abstract

The sporicidal activities of the herbs were investigated to screen for novel antimicrobial substances against Bacillus subtilis spores. The bacterial inactivation effects of ethanol extracts of coriander, caraway, mace at concentrations of 0.5% (w/v) and 1.0-2.5% were about 10- and 100-fold respectively against spores. At pH 5, the antimicrobial activity was about 92%, but at pH 4 the sporicidal activity was particularly high, reducing the spore count by 99.99%. The 0.1-2.5% ethanol extract of herbs adjusted to pH 4-5 exhibited significantly marked deactivation effects, with 3-4 log CFU/mL reductions. The herb-acid combination exerted a further increase in sporicidal activity, with an additional 1-3 log CFU/mL reduction. The sporicidal mechanism was assumed to involve a two-step: (1) the hydrophobic binding of surfactants in the herbs onto the spore coat destroys its protein, and (2) the acid then penetrates into the interior, generating unstable growth conditions.

Keywords: Bacillus subtilis spore; Coriander; Herbs; Organic acid; Sporicidal activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with ethical standardsThe authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of the sporicidal effects of ethanol extracts of (A) mace, (B) caraway, and (C) coriander at different concentrations against B. subtilis spores. Each vertical bar indicates the standard deviation. Values marked above the bar with different letters are significantly different by ANOVA with Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparison of the sporicidal effects of (A) pH (achieved using different concentrations of lactic acid) alone, and ethanol extracts of (B) mace, (C) caraway, and (D) coriander herbs at various concentrations and at different pH levels (achieved by combining them with lactic acid; anpH 4.0; black diamond, pH 5.0; acid) alone, and ethanol extrB. subtilis spores. Each vertical bar indicates the standard deviation. Values marked above the bar with different letters are significantly different by ANOVA with Duncan’s multiple range test at p < 0.05
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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