Food safety is an important concern for the food industry. Despite the great advances in production technology, cases of food poisoning continue to grow worldwide. An estimated 600 million people suffered from foodborne diseases in 2010 and about 230000 died from the pathogen of foodborne disease. Microorganisms are the major cause of food poisoning, with Salmonella and Campylobacter species causing the majority of food poisoning cases. In addition to foodborne diseases, the destruction of food by microorganisms also causes harm to human health. One-quarter of the world's food was estimated to be lost due to the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms[1]. For many years, food industry has employed diverse artificial preservatives to inhibit the growth of microorganisms that trigger food spoilage. However, artificial preservatives have adverse effects on the health of consumers, so consumers' interest in the use of natural preservatives is growing[2]. Metabolites are naturally occurring substances derived from plants, animals, and microorganisms. These substances suppress pathogenic microorganisms in food to a bare minimum or even eradicate them entirely. Therefore, metabolites, as food preservatives, can not only extend the shelf life of food, but also be safe for human health.
Applications
With growing consumer demands for natural food preservatives, many plant and microbial metabolites have been used in food industry as food preservatives. These food preservatives do not compromise the safety, convenience, or sensory property of food. Several examples of metabolites used as food preservatives are listed below.
- Lactic acid bacteria and their metabolites used as food preservatives
Lactic acid bacteria are an important class of microorganisms that produce many metabolites with preservative abilities. A typical metabolite of lactic acid bacteria is organic acid. The production of organic acid results in an acidic environment, which generally restricts the growth of bacteria and fungi, including Gram positive bacteria and Gram negative bacteria[3]. Lactic acid bacteria and their metabolites play a critical role in the preservation of aquatic food products, fruits, vegetables, breads, dairy products, and beverages. They have a long history as food preservatives and have been proven to be safe and reliable.
- Terpenoids used as food preservatives
Essential oils are concentrated hydrophobic liquids extracted from diverse plants. Their conspicuous antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms makes them become a good candidate as natural food preservatives. The antimicrobial activity of essential oils is due to the presence of terpenoids that are plant secondary metabolites. For example, terpenoids such as carvacrol and thymol have outstanding antimicrobial activity towards diverse microorganisms (e.g. Candida strains, Enterococcus faecalis). Therefore, they can be used as food preservatives.
- Polyphenols used as food preservatives
Polyphenols are a class of plant secondary metabolites. They are found in red fruits, plum skins, Italian red grape skins, different parts of elderberries, and other plants or fruits. Polyphenols showed inhibitory effect towards many microorganisms, including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis and others. Therefore, polyphenols have the potential to used as food preservatives.
What Can We Do?
Alfa Chemistry has a profound research foundation in the field of food preservatives. In our company, you can find the appropriate metabolites for the research of food preservatives. Alfa Chemistry will serve you with the most abundant experience and affordable price. Please feel free to contact us if you have a need.
References
- Lyu, X.; et al. Potential natural food preservatives and their sustainable production in yeast: terpenoids and polyphenols. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2019, 16(67): 4397-4417.
- Batiha, G.E.; et al. Application of natural antimicrobials in food preservation: recent views. Food Control. 2021, 126: 108066.
- Crowley, S.; et al. Current perspectives on antifungal lactic acid bacteria as natural bio-preservatives. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 2013, 2(33): 93-109.
Please kindly note that our products and services are for research use only.
