Phenolic Compounds in Bacterial Inactivation: A Perspective from Brazil.

Phenolic compounds are natural substances that are produced through the secondary metabolism of plants, fungi, and bacteria, in addition to being produced by chemical synthesis. These compounds have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties, among others. In this way, Brazil represents one of the most promising countries regarding phenolic compounds since it has a heterogeneous flora, with the presence of six distinct biomes (Cerrado, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, Pantanal, and Pampa). Recently, several studies have pointed to an era of antimicrobial resistance due to the unrestricted and large-scale use of antibiotics, which led to the emergence of some survival mechanisms of bacteria to these compounds. Therefore, the use of natural substances with antimicrobial action can help combat these resistant pathogens and represent a natural alternative that may be useful in animal nutrition for direct application in food and can be used in human nutrition to promote health. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) evaluate the phenolic compounds with antimicrobial properties isolated from plants present in Brazil, (ii) discuss the compounds across different classes (flavonoids, xanthones, coumarins, phenolic acids, and others), and (iii) address the structure-activity relationship of phenolic compounds that lead to antimicrobial action.

Mechanisms of plant cell wall surveillance in response to pathogens, cell wall-derived ligands and the effect of expansins to infection resistance or susceptibility.

Cell wall integrity is tightly regulated and maintained given that non-physiological modification of cell walls could render plants vulnerable to biotic and/or abiotic stresses. Expansins are plant cell wall-modifying proteins active during many developmental and physiological processes, but they can also be produced by bacteria and fungi during interaction with plant hosts. Cell wall alteration brought about by ectopic expression, overexpression, or exogenous addition of expansins from either eukaryote or prokaryote origin can in some instances provide resistance to pathogens, while in other cases plants become more susceptible to infection. In these circumstances altered cell wall mechanical properties might be directly responsible for pathogen resistance or susceptibility outcomes. Simultaneously, through membrane receptors for enzymatically released cell wall fragments or by sensing modified cell wall barrier properties, plants trigger intracellular signaling cascades inducing defense responses and reinforcement of the cell wall, contributing to various infection phenotypes, in which expansins might also be involved. Here, we review the plant immune response activated by cell wall surveillance mechanisms, cell wall fragments identified as responsible for immune responses, and expansin's roles in resistance and susceptibility of plants to pathogen attack.

Assessment of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 growth on lettuce exposed to isothermal and non-isothermal conditions.

This study aimed to assess the growth of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 on lettuce exposed to isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Pathogens were inoculated on lettuce separately and stored under isothermal condition at 5 °C, 10 °C, 25 °C, 37 °C for both bacteria, at 40 °C for Salmonella and 42 °C for E. coli O157:H7. Growth curves were built by fitting the data to the Baranyi's DMFit, generating R2 values greater than 0.92 for primary models. Secondary models were fitted with Ratkowsky equations, generating R2 values higher than 0.91 and RMSE lower than 0.1. Experimental data showed that both bacteria could grow at all temperatures. Also, the growth of both pathogens under non-isothermal conditions was studied simulating temperatures found from harvest to supermarkets in Brazil. Models were analysed by R2, RMSE, bias factor (Bf) and accuracy factor (Af). Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 were able to grow in this temperature profile and the models could predict the behavior of these microorganisms on lettuce under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Based on the results, a negligible growth time (ς) was proposed to provide the time which lettuce could be exposed to a specific temperature and do not present an expressive growth of bacteria. The ς was developed based on Baranyi's primary model equation and on growth potential concept. ς is the value of lag phase added of the time necessary to population grow 0.5 log CFU/g. The ς of lettuce exposed to 37 °C was 1.3 h, while at 5 °C was 3.3 days.