Controlling foodborne pathogens with natural antimicrobials by biological control and antivirulence strategies

Abstract

Foodborne diseases represent a global health threat besides the great economic losses encountered by the food industry. These hazards necessitate the implementation of food preservation methods to control foodborne pathogens, the causal agents of human illnesses. Until now, most control methods rely on inhibiting the microbial growth or eliminating the pathogens by applying lethal treatments. Natural antimicrobials, which inhibit microbial growth, include traditional chemicals, naturally occurring antimicrobials, or biological preservation (e.g. beneficial microbes, bacteriocins, or bacteriophages). Although having great antimicrobial effectiveness, challenges due to the adaptation of foodborne pathogens to such control methods are becoming apparent. Such adaptation enables the survival of the pathogens in foods or food-contact environments. This imperative concern inspires contemporary research and food industry sector to develop technologies which do not target microbial growth but disarming microbial virulence factors. These technologies, referred to as "antivirulence", render the microbe non-capable of causing the disease with very limited or no opportunities for the pathogenic microorganisms to develop resistance. For the sake of safer and fresh-like foods, with no effect on the sensory properties of foods, a combination of two or more natural antimicrobials or with other stressors, is now widespread, to preserve foods. This review introduces and critically describes the traditional versus the emerging uses of natural antimicrobials for controlling foodborne pathogens in foods. Development of biological control strategies using natural antimicrobials proved to be effective in inhibiting microbial growth in foods and allowing improved food safety. In the meanwhile, discovery of new antivirulence agents could be a transformative strategy in food preservation in the far future.

Solubility Enhancement, Formulation Development, and Antibacterial Activity of Xanthan-Gum-Stabilized Colloidal Gold Nanogel of Hesperidin against Proteus vulgaris

“…The consumption of herbs is being performed more consciously because the natural compounds are effective against various microorganisms. The industry involved in the treatment of antimicrobial diseases has welcomed the increasing use of drugs based on plants and plant components [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. In line with this philosophy, hesperidin (HSP) is widely used in herbal therapies.…”

Development of Anti-Virulence Therapeutics against Mono-ADP-Ribosyltransferase Toxins

“…Future work will undoubtedly entail refinement of the potency of these lead compounds through a combination of Structure-Activity-Relationships (SARs) and Quantitative-Structure-Activity-Relationships (QSARs). An attractive approach is to use plants as the source for the discovery of natural products to target bacterial virulence factors [ 93 , 94 ]. Recently, a family of plant metabolites known as flavonoids have been identified as strong inhibitors of C3-like mART toxins and will provide the basis for the development of potent and less-toxic anti-virulence agents to treat bacterial disease.…”

“…PJ34 is shown in stick format (colored black). The differences in structure among important catalytic residues (Arg 77 Ser 78 , Lys94 , Asn 110 , Ser 117 , Thr 119 , Leu 124 , Try 128 , Gln 158 , Glu 160 ) are highlighted. (D) Stereo view of the Scabin-P6-E complex structure (magenta) and Scabin-apo structure (green).…”

“…P6-E is represented in stick format (black). Structural differences are highlighted among important catalytic residues (Arg 77 Ser 78 , Lys94 , Asn 110 , Ser 117 , Thr 119 , Leu 124 , Try 128 , Gln 158 , Glu 160 ). Figure was taken from reference[24].…”

Lactoferrin-Chitosan-TPP Nanoparticles: Antibacterial Action and Extension of Strawberry Shelf-Life

“…Natural antimicrobials can be used as preservatives by adding these compounds directly to food or as part of food packaging (Delshadi et al, 2021;Hosseini et al, 2019). There is a wide variety of natural preservatives that are usually organic and extracted from natural sources, such as essential oils, phenolic compounds, proteins such as lysozyme and lactoferrin, and polysaccharides such as chitosan (Abdelhamid & El-Dougdoug, 2020;Bahrami et al, 2019).…”