Premium
USE OF THE AGAR DIFFUSION ASSAY TO EVALUATE BACTERICIDAL ACTIVITY OF FORMULATIONS OF ALKALINE SALTS OF FATTY ACIDS AGAINST BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH POULTRY PROCESSING
Author(s) -
HINTON JR ARTHUR,
INGRAM KIMBERLY D.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of food safety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1745-4565
pISSN - 0149-6085
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4565.2011.00307.x
Subject(s) - antibacterial activity , lauric acid , agar , chemistry , myristic acid , bacteria , food science , agar diffusion test , potassium hydroxide , fatty acid , caprylic acid , capric acid , chromatography , biochemistry , organic chemistry , biology , genetics , palmitic acid
The agar diffusion assay was used to examine antibacterial activity of alkaline salts of fatty acids (FA). Wells in agar seeded with bacteria were filled with FA‐potassium hydroxide (KOH) solutions, plates were incubated and zones of inhibition were measured. Effects of lauric acid‐KOH concentration and pH of caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric and myristic acids in KOH on sizes of zones of inhibition of bacteria were examined. Results indicated that lauric acid‐KOH concentration significantly ( P < 0.05) affected the size of zones of inhibition of all isolates. Furthermore, although each FA varied in antibacterial activity, pH between 9.5 and 12.5 generally produced no significant changes in antibacterial activity. Greater antibacterial activity above pH 13.5 was due to the high pH produced by KOH. Findings demonstrated that alkaline salts of FA possess antibacterial activity toward bacteria, and that the agar diffusion assay can be used to screen antibacterial activity of these solutions. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Findings of this research can be applied in the development of novel formulations of solutions of alkaline salts of fatty acid that can be used as sanitizers in poultry processing operations. Research indicates that the agar diffusion assay can be used to quickly screen these new formulations to assess their ability to kill pathogenic, spoilage and indicator associated with processing. Solutions of these natural bactericides that exhibit the highest degree of antibacterial activity as determined by this in vitro assay can then be tested under actual processing conditions.