Research on Food Preservation Based on Antibacterial Technology: Progress and Future Prospects

Abstract

The nutrients present in food are not only prone to a series of physicochemical reactions but also provide conditions for the growth and reproduction of foodborne microorganisms. In recent years, many innovative methods from different fields have been introduced into food preservation, which extends the shelf life while maximizing the preservation of the original ingredients and properties of food. In this field, there is a lack of a systematic summary of new technologies emerging. In view of this, we overview the innovative methods applied to the field of food preservation in recent 3 years, focusing on a variety of technological approaches such as antimicrobial photodynamic therapy based on nanotechnology, electromagnetic radiation sterilization based on radiation technology, and antimicrobial peptides based on biomolecules. We also discuss the preservation mechanism and the application of the different methods to specific categories of products. We evaluated their advantages and limitations in the food industry, describing their development prospects. In addition, as microorganisms are the main causes of food spoilage, our review also has reference significance for clinical antibacterial treatment.

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides; food preservation; ionizing radiation; photodynamics.

Figure 1

(A) The process of action of aPDT [10]. (B) aPDT damages biofilms in three ways [11]. (C) Antimicrobial mechanisms of aPDT against planktonic cells. Upon the aPDT, three major morphologic have changed: cell shrinkage, formation of vacuoles, and cell breakage/leakage of intracellular contents [11].

Figure 2

(A) Examples of natural PS with therapeutic application [19]. (B) Curc-CS-NBs and Curc-oxy-CS-NBs under LED and dark conditions against the tested bacterial strains [20]. (Vs controls: * p = 0.0332; ** p = 0.0021; *** p = 0.0002; **** p < 0.0001) (C) Reactive oxygen species generation with LED irradiation (0–3 h) in response to high and low concentrations of curcumin in nanoformulations (Curc-CS-NB and Curc-CS-Oxy-NB) [20]. (D) Preparation method of CDs-CS [19]. (E) Antibacterial strategy [19]. (F) The total bacteria count [21].

Figure 3

(A) The three phases of water radiolysis’ primary reactions [55]. (B) Effect of ionizing radiation on amino acids [56]. (C) The mechanism of electron beam irradiation generation, and the inactivation mechanism of ion-pair to cell’s DNA [57]. (D) Representative examples demonstrating the effect of ionizing radiation on polysaccharides: breakage of glycosidic bonds and free radical reactions of D-glucose (i) Breakage of glycosidic bond by ionizing radiation. (ii) Examples of free radical reactions of D-glucose [56].

Figure 4

(A) Electromagnetic spectrum [62]. (B) Type of ionizing radiations and penetration depth [63]. (C) The process of seafood sterilization through electron beam irradiation [57]. (D) Count and D10 values of biofilm cells treated by electron beam irradiation. (i–iii) The bacterial counts of V. parahaemolyticus, P. fluorescens, and S. putrefaciens after irradiation (0.5 kGy) under mono-culture and co-culture, respectively, and (iv) the same under mono-culture and mixed-culture treated by electron beam irradiation, respectively (Lowercase letters indicate a significant difference, ** p < 0.01) [64]. (E) Content of polyphenolic compounds in relation to the ionizing radiation dose (Lowercase letters indicate homogeneous groups within a group of polyphenolic compounds) [65].

Figure 5

(A) Number of AMP 3D structures [74]. (B) The AMP universal classification system [74]. (C) Mechanism of action of the antimicrobial peptides by membrane lytic mechanism [73]. (D) Membrane damage mechanism of AMPs: (I) toroidal pore model, (II) barrel-stave model, and (III) carpet-like model [79]. (E) Non-membrane damage mechanism of AMPs: (I) Bind RNA and DNA, (II) inhibit bacterial protein synthesis, (III) inhibit cell wall synthesis, and (IV) stimulate ROS overproduction [79].

Figure 6

Production technologies for seafood-derived antibacterial peptides (AMPs): (A) biological extraction, (B) solid-phase synthesis (AA1: amino acid 1, PG: protecting group, P1: side-chain protecting group 1), and (C) recombinant protein expression [80].