Biofilm provides a bacterial hiding place by forming a physical barrier and causing physiological changes in cells. The elimination of biofilm is the main goal of hygiene. Chemicals that are inhibitory to biofilm formation have been developed for use in food, personal hygiene products, and medical instruments. Monoacylglycerols are recognized as safe and are used in food as emulsifiers. In this study, the inhibitory activity of monoacylglycerols on bacterial biofilm formation was evaluated systematically with four bacterial strains, Aeromonas hydrophila, Streptococcus mutans, Xanthomonas oryzae, and Yersinia enterocolitica. Monoacylglycerols with two specific lengths of fatty acid moiety, monolaurin and monobehenin, were found to have strong inhibitory activity toward bacterial biofilm formation of S. mutans, X. oryzae, and Y. enterocolitica in a strain specific manner. First, this result suggested that biofilm formation was not inhibited by the detergent characteristics of monoacylglycerols. This suggestion was supported by the inhibitory action of monolaurin on biofilm development but not on the initial cell attachment of Y. enterocolitica in flow cytometric observation. Second, it was also suggested that two distinct response mechanisms to monoacylglycerols existed in bacteria. The existence of these two inhibitory response mechanisms was bacterial strain specific.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40064-016-3182-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Sanitizing effect of ethanol on a Yersinia enterocolitica biofilm was evaluated in terms of biomass removal and bactericidal activity. We found that 40 % ethanol was most effective for biofilm biomass removal; however, no significant difference was observed in bactericidal activity between treatment with 40 and 70 % ethanol. This unexpected low ethanol concentration requirement for biomass removal was confirmed using biofilms of two additional pathogenic bacteria, Aeromonas hydrophila and Xanthomonas oryzae. Although only three pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria were tested and the biofilm in nature was different from the biofilm in this study, the results in this study suggested the possible re-evaluation of the effective sanitizing ethanol concentration 70 %, which is the concentration commonly employed for sanitization, on bacteria in a biofilm.

Fish pathogens cause not only economic damages to fish farming but also infectious pathogens known as a zoonotic agent. Since the continued use of antibiotics to control fish pathogens entails side effects, materials of natural origin need to be developed. The purpose of this study is to discover coniferous essential oils with excellent antibacterial effects in order to develop antibiotic alternatives. We have extracted essential oils using hydro-distillation from the leaves of Abies holophylla, Pinus thunbergii, Pinus parviflora, Tsuga sieboldii, and Pinus rigitaeda, which are all Pinaceae family. And, we have evaluated antibacterial activity with the extracted essential oils against Edwardsiella tarda, Photobacterium damselae, Streptococcus parauberis, and Lactococcus garvieae, which are fish pathogens. As a result, the essential oils from A. holophylla and P. thunbergii showed the selectively strong antibacterial activity against E. tarda and P. damselae, which are gram-negative bacteria. From GC-MS analysis, it was identified that main component of A. holophylla essential oils are (-)-bornyl acetate (29.45%), D-limonene (20.47%), and camphene (11.73%), and that of P. thunbergii essential oils is α-pinene (59.81%). In addition, we found three compounds: neryl acetate, (-)-borneol, and (-)-carveol, which are oxygenated monoterpenes. These exist in a very small amount but exhibit the same efficacy as essential oil. Therefore, we expect that A. holophylla and P. thunbergii essential oils having excellent growth inhibitory effect against gram-negative fish pathogens can be used as biological products such as feed additives and fishery products.

Xanthomonas oryzae (Xoo) causes bacterial blight in rice, which reduces crop yield and leads to significant economic damage. Xoo exerts its pathogenicity by biofilm formation, interfering with sap flow in the xylem vessels. Inhibition of Xoo biofilm formation may therefore alleviate the symptoms of bacterial blight and restore rice yields. Streptomyces spp. are soil bacteria that produce various secondary metabolites. In the present study, 38,888 extracts derived from Streptomyces spp. were screened for their ability to inhibit Xoo biofilm formation; four extracts exhibited strong inhibitory activity. Separation and purification of the extracts from strains 0320 and 4359 suggested that anthranilamide was the chemical responsible for this effect. Anthranilamide was found to inhibit biofilm formation without affecting Xoo cell growth; it is, therefore, a good candidate chemical for the treatment of bacterial blight in rice as it will not give rise to resistant bacterial strains. The selected four Streptomyces strains were also good candidates for biological treatment of bacterial blight in rice.

Streptococcus mutans causes oral diseases, including tooth decay, by producing a biofilm called plaque. Therefore, inhibition of biofilm formation is essential for maintaining oral health. Plants produce a variety of secondary metabolites, which act as starting sources for the discovery of new bioactive chemicals that inhibit biofilm formation of S. mutans. Previous studies have reported on chemicals with antibiotic activity for the inhibition of biofilm formation by S. mutans. In this study, nine plant extracts from Melonis Pedicellus, Agastachis Herba, Mori Cortex Radicis, Diospyros kaki leaves, Agrimoniae Herba, Polygoni Multiflori Radix, Lycopi Herba, Elsholtziae Herba, and Schizonepetae Spica were screened for the inhibition of biofilm formation from a plant extract library. The water-soluble compounds of the extracts did not affect cell growth but selectively inhibited biofilm formation. These results suggest that the selected plant extracts constitute novel biofilm formation inhibitors, with a novel biological mechanism, for improving oral hygiene.