Abstract
Contamination by numerous food-borne pathogens is a major challenge facing the food industry daily. Even though there are many strategies in the fight against contamination, pathogens able to attach to different surfaces and form biofilms are the biggest concern. Staphylococcus aureus is a common food-borne pathogen capable of forming biofilms on foods and food contact surfaces. The prevalence of multidrug resistant S. aureus is high in raw products, high-protein foods and processed products. Bearing in mind S. aureus resistance to numerous antibacterial agents, the aim of this study was to investigate antibiofilm activity of an ethyl-acetate extract of the medicinal plant, Frangula alnus, against S. aureus ATCC 25923 and S. aureus ATCC 43300. It was demonstrated that extract reduced survival of both tested strains by up to 67%. Furthermore, quantification of biofilm biomass showed that extract possesses the extraordinary ability to inhibit biofilm formation of both tested strains (up to 91%). On the other hand, the effect on preformed biofilm was less pronounced and measured only for S. aureus ATCC 43300, wherein about 28% of preformed biofilm was eradicated. The results obtained in this study encourage further investigation of F. alnus as a novel antibiofilm agent or preservative in the food industry.
Bis-imidazolinylindoles are active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis
