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PhD Vermeiren Lieve Compleet - Hogeschool Gent

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undissociated acid molecules enter a microbial cell, at the higher intracellular pH, they<br />

dissociate in charged anions and protons, both unable to diffuse out of the cell thus reducing<br />

the intracellular pH (Eklund, 1989; Russell, 1992). A low cytoplasmic pH causes structural<br />

changes in proteins, nucleic acids and phospholipids, influences rates of enzyme action and in<br />

this way interferes with essential metabolic functions and prevents active transport requiring a<br />

ΔH + -gradient (Eklund, 1989; Stratford, 2000). To maintain or raise internal pH, a<br />

compensating transport of protons out of the cell takes place by membrane-bound H + -<br />

ATPases but consumes excessive ATP (Stratford, 2000). The remaining anion inside the cell<br />

can be driven to the outside of the cell by the electrochemical gradient. The anion is<br />

protonated again to repeat the cycle until the proton motive force is dissipated and the cell is<br />

inhibited by energy depletion (Eklund, 1989; Russell, 1992; Stratford, 2000). The last decade,<br />

however, the organic acids are regarded as having not one but several mechanisms of action<br />

and inhibition of active<br />

nutrient transport by<br />

neutralisation of the<br />

proton motive force only<br />

XCOOH XCOOH<br />

is not believed to fully<br />

explain their<br />

XCOO<br />

antimicrobial activity<br />

(Eklund, 1989; Russell,<br />

1992). Lactic acid is<br />

acting partly according<br />

Figure 1.3. Weak acid theory and dissipation of the proton to the weak acid theory,<br />

motive force (modified from Russell, 1992 and Stratford, 2000) but other mechanisms of<br />

inhibition are also involved (Eklund, 1989; Bogaert & Naidu, 2000; Stratford, 2000).<br />

Furthermore, it has been shown that the effects of lactic acid on microbial growth at different<br />

pH can only be explained if both the undissociated and the dissociated form are taken into<br />

account (Gonçalves et al., 1997). Organic acids have a wide inhibitory spectrum including<br />

Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, yeasts and moulds. Lactic acid mainly acts<br />

against bacteria and is ineffective against yeast and moulds (Eklund, 1989; Bogaert & Naidu,<br />

2000). Lactic acid and its salts are reported to have an inhibitory effect on LAB (Houtsma et<br />

al., 1993), spore-forming Clostridia and Bacillus spp. (Bogaert & Naidu, 2000), Listeria<br />

monocytogenes (Houtsma et al., 1993) as well as on Gram-negative pathogens such as E. coli<br />

0157:H7 and Salmonella spp. This property makes organic acids attractive food preservatives.<br />

-<br />

H +<br />

XCOO -<br />

H +<br />

ADP + Pi<br />

ATP<br />

H +<br />

Chapter 1 – Antagonistic micro-organisms for biopreservation of food products 10

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