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Essential oils: their antibacterial properties and potential applications in foods--a review.

Antibiotics have always been considered one of the wonder discoveries of the 20th century. This is true, but the real wonder is the rise of antibiotic resistance in hospitals, communities, and the environment concomitant with their use. The extraordinary genetic capacities of microbes have benefitted from man's overuse of antibiotics to exploit every source of resistance genes and every means of horizontal gene transmission to develop multiple mechanisms of resistance for each and every antibiotic introduced into practice clinically, agriculturally, or otherwise. This review presents the salient aspects of antibiotic resistance development over the past half-century, with the oft-restated conclusion that it is time to act. To achieve complete restitution of therapeutic applications of antibiotics, there is a need for more information on the role of environmental microbiomes in the rise of antibiotic resistance. In particular, creative approaches to the discovery of novel antibiotics and their expedited and controlled introduction to therapy are obligatory.

Origins and Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Bacteriocins of gram-positive bacteria.

There is an urgent need in aquaculture to develop microbial control strategies, since disease outbreaks are recognized as important constraints to aquaculture production and trade and since the development of antibiotic resistance has become a matter of growing concern. One of the alternatives to antimicrobials in disease control could be the use of probiotic bacteria as microbial control agents. This review describes the state of the art of probiotic research in the culture of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and live food, with an evaluation of the results obtained so far. A new definition of probiotics, also applicable to aquatic environments, is proposed, and a detailed description is given of their possible modes of action, i.e., production of compounds that are inhibitory toward pathogens, competition with harmful microorganisms for nutrients and energy, competition with deleterious species for adhesion sites, enhancement of the immune response of the animal, improvement of water quality, and interaction with phytoplankton. A rationale is proposed for the multistep and multidisciplinary process required for the development of effective and safe probiotics for commercial application in aquaculture. Finally, directions for further research are discussed.

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Probiotic Bacteria as Biological Control Agents in Aquaculture

Bacteriocins are bacterially produced antimicrobial peptides with narrow or broad host ranges. Many bacteriocins are produced by food-grade lactic acid bacteria, a phenomenon which offers food scientists the possibility of directing or preventing the development of specific bacterial species in food. This can be particularly useful in preservation or food safety applications, but also has implications for the development of desirable flora in fermented food. In this sense, bacteriocins can be used to confer a rudimentary form of innate immunity to foodstuffs, helping processors extend their control over the food flora long after manufacture.

Bacteriocins: developing innate immunity for food

Anilides of carboxylic and sulfonic acids were prepared and tested for antimicrobial activity. While these anilides were ineffective against Gram-negative organisms, there was a good correlation between chemical structure and biological activity against Gram-positive species. Both the nature and position of the benzene ring substituents and the length of the carbon side chain affected the activity and specificity of the compounds. The highest activity was observed when the acyl or sulfuryl moiety had a C7-C9 side chain attached. The CONH and SO2NH bridging groups were equally effective. The attachment of COOH or COOCH3 groups in the omega-position did not effect activity, but the substitution of the acidic proton of the sulfonamide group by an alkyl group rendered the compound inactive. Six compounds, which were substituted anilides of sulfonic acids, fatty acids, or the analagous alpha-methylene-substituted acids, were bacteriostatic at 10 ppm against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, and Lactobacillus plantarum. One of these compounds, 2-hydroxy-5-nitroanilide of alpha-methylenedecanoic acid, was bactericidal at 1 ppm.

Antibacterially active substituted anilides of carboxylic and sulfonic acids.

Decontamination of Fluid Milk Containing Bacillus Spores Using Commercial Household Products

Dipping cod fillets in ammonium or sodium bicarbonate solutions markedly reduced microbial growth compared to untreated samples after 8 days at 4°C. Total plate counts, proteolytic bacteria and H2S-producing bacteria were inhibited. Mixing ammonium- and sodium bicarbonates at selected ratios maintained the preservative effect while reducing the ammonia odor. The treated fish had improved texture and moisture retention by both objective and subjective testing but had significantly lower aroma and overall acceptability scores from sensory evaluation.

Use of Bicarbonates for Microbial Control and Improved Water‐Binding Capacity in Cod Fillets

It is generally assumed that spore behavior is independent of spore concentration, but recently published mathematical models indicate that this is not the case. A Monte Carlo simulation was employed in this study to further examine the independence assumption by evaluating the inherent variance in spore germination data. All simulations were carried out with @Risk software. A total of 500 to 4,000 iterations were needed for each simulation to reach convergence. Lag time and doubling time from a higher inoculum concentration were used to simulate the time to detection (TTD) at a lower inoculum concentration under otherwise identical environmental conditions. The point summaries of the simulated and observed TTDs were recorded for the 26 simulations, with kinetic data at the target inoculum concentration. The ratios of the median (R(m) = median(obs)/median(sim)) and 90% range (R(r) = 90% range(obs)/90% range(sim)) were calculated. Most R(m) and R(r) values were greater than one, indicating that the simulated TTDs were smaller and more homogeneous than the observed ones. R(r) values departed farther from one than R(m) values. Ratios obtained when simulating 1 spore with 10,000 spores deviated the farthest from one. Neither ratio was significantly different from the other when simulating 1 spore with 100 spores or simulating 100 spores with 10,000 spores. When kinetic data were not available, the percent positive observed at the 95th percentile of the simulated TTDs was obtained. These simulation results confirmed that the assumption of independence between spores is not valid.

Computer simulation of Clostridium botulinum strain 56A behavior at low spore concentrations

The germination of spores from Clostridium botulinum B-aphis and Ba410 was examined. In a complex medium, heat activation of spores from both strains doubled the germination rates and was required for germination in the presence of 2% NaCl. In a defined medium (CTB [D. B. Rowley and F. Feeherry, J. Bacteriol. 104:1151-1157, 1970]), the parent strain B-aphis germinated at a rate of 0.77% min-1 in the absence of NaCl and was not affected by 2% NaCl. A salt-tolerant derivative, strain Ba410, germinated at rates of 0.16% min-1 in CTB and 0.04% min-1 in CTB containing 2% NaCl. L-Alanine-triggered spores germinated faster than did L-cysteine-triggered spores from both strains. When both amino acids were present, B-aphis germinated rapidly in the absence of NaCl and had biphasic kinetics in the presence of NaCl. Strain Ba410 had biphasic kinetics in the absence of NaCl and germinated slowly with single-phase kinetics in the presence of NaCl. L-Alanine- and L-cysteine-triggered germinations were each inhibited by both D-alanine and D-cysteine, indicating a common germinant-binding site for both alanine and cysteine. Attempts to select for variants with amino acid-specific germinant-binding sites were unsuccessful. Differences in the germination kinetics of both strains could not be explained by ultrastructural differences. Transmission electron micrographs revealed striking similarities between the strains. Images

Thomas J. Montville

Papers

Antibacterially active substituted anilides of carboxylic and sulfonic acids.

Decontamination of Fluid Milk Containing Bacillus Spores Using Commercial Household Products

Use of Bicarbonates for Microbial Control and Improved Water‐Binding Capacity in Cod Fillets

Computer simulation of Clostridium botulinum strain 56A behavior at low spore concentrations

Germination of spores from Clostridium botulinum B-aphis and Ba410.