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Natural milk fatty acids affect survival and invasiveness of Listeria monocytogenes
Author(s) -
Petrone G.,
Conte M. P.,
Longhi C.,
Di Santo S.,
Superti F.,
Ammendolia M. G.,
Valenti P.,
Seganti L.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1472-765x.1998.00441.x
Subject(s) - listeria monocytogenes , food science , biology , polyunsaturated fatty acid , bacteria , pathogen , fatty acid , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , genetics
The effects of 12 fatty acids, naturally occurring in milk from several mammalian species, on the survival and invasion ability of Listeria monocytogenes , a food‐borne pathogen, were determined. The survival was tested in the presence of 200 μg ml −1 fatty acids suspended in brain hearth infusion broth or in storage conditioning solution (NaCl 1%) of Mozzarella cheese, an Italian soft unripened cheese, at pH 7·0 or 5·0. Lauric (C12:0), linoleic (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) acids exerted the strongest bactericidal activity. The invasive efficiency of L. monocytogenes , determined in the Caco‐2 enterocyte‐like cell line, was strongly decreased in the presence of the fatty acids tested (from about 20 to 500‐fold). This research suggests that naturally occurring fatty acids of milk, supplemented in milk derivatives, could affect both bacterial growth and invasiveness and consequently, could serve as barriers towards L. monocytogenes infection.