New strategies for food biopreservation: the potential use of plant extracts from Cerrado isolated or combined with bacteriocins

• Grant number: 23/17090-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2024
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Agreement: CONFAP - National Council of State Research Support Foundations
• Principal Investigator: Uelinton Manoel Pinto
• Grantee: Uelinton Manoel Pinto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Alan Thyago Jensen ; Bernadette Dora Gombossy de Melo Franco ; FLAVIO SANTOS LOPES ; Katyuscya Veloso Leão ; Marcela de Sá Barreto da Cunha ; Paulo Henrique Goncalves Dias Diniz ; Raimundo Francisco dos Santos Filho ; Svetoslav Dimitrov Todorov

Abstract

The high prevalence of foodborne diseases demonstrates that food safety remains a significant challenge. Microorganisms possess resistance and adaptation mechanisms that hinder their control and favor their persistence in food processing environments. Meanwhile, the food industry is challenged to seek new preservation strategies that ensure safety while having minimal impact on the nutritional and sensory characteristics of the food. Thus, the use of natural compounds such as plant extracts and bacteriocins has been encouraged. The Cerrado biome is considered a source of natural products that is still relatively unknown and underutilized. Therefore, this proposal aims to evaluate the effect of extracts obtained from Cerrado plant species, either individually or combined with bacteriocins, on microbial control and food preservation. To this end, materials such as leaves and barks from different Cerrado species will be used for extract production. These materials will be evaluated for their phytochemical characterization, quantification of polyphenols, saponins, tannins, and flavonoids. Antimicrobial activity will be assessed through in vitro assays, including agar diffusion and microplate dilution tests. After establishing the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for microorganisms such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes, concentrations will be selected for use individually or in combination with bacteriocins. Given the importance of biofilm formation in the food industry environment, antibiofilm activity and inhibition of microbial communication mediated by chemical signaling known as quorum sensing will be evaluated to assess the extracts' effects on these phenotypes. Conditions showing antimicrobial activity will be selected for assessing their potential use as food preservatives, including analyzing their impact on the shelf life of selected foods. The development of this proposal could contribute to the identification of natural antimicrobials, promoting improvements in food safety, and simultaneously encouraging the sustainable use of native Cerrado species, fostering their appreciation and preservation. (AU)