Antibiotic properties of nisin in the context of its use as a food additive

Abstract

Background. Scientific research has demonstrated that microbial pathogens could develop resistance to multiple antibacterial agents. Food additives, in particular preservatives, have also been shown to increase antimicrobial resistance of food-contaminating microorganisms. In this work the lantibiotic nisin was shown to exhibit: it contributes to the development of the antibiotic resistance of pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms, reduces the immune status, the development of an imbalance of intestinal microbiocenosis, affects the body’s metabolism through the regulation of DNA transcription.Purpose. To assess the risks of nisin (E234) use taking into account its impact on the biological properties of microorganisms-food contaminants.Material and methods. Calculation of nisin consumption with food under conditions of scenarios 1 and 2 was carried out taking into account the bodyweight of consumers of different age groups in the Russian population in the software Exel. The analysis of scientific data on the biological properties of nisin, including the ability to form to the resistance of microorganisms was provided.Results and conclusion. For the first time, the calculated amounts of the food additive-preservative nisin (E234) in the intestinal contents were shown to exceed the minimum inhibitory concentrations of nisin for representatives of the normal flora of the human gastrointestinal tract in consumers of all ages by from 40 to 27064 times, depending on the consumption scenario (with minimum and maximum exposure levels). It has been argued that the safety of nisin used as a food additive needs to be re-assessed taking into account its considerable contribution to the antimicrobial resistance of food pathogens.