Effects of cinnamon essential oil on the physiological metabolism of Salmonella enteritidis

Abstract

Food safety and health are the themes of today's society. As a class of foodborne pathogens, Salmonella enteritidis has become one of the common zoonotic pathogens. Because chemical preservatives have certain harmfulness and have been questioned, it is particularly important to find green and safe natural preservatives. The advantages of plant essential oils (EOs) are that they are green and safe, have a wide range of antibacterials, and are not easy to form drug resistance. In recent years, studies have found that EOs have excellent antibacterial activity, but their antibacterial mechanism has not been conclusive, which has certain limitations in their application in the food field. Cinnamon essential oil (CEO) extracted from dried cinnamon is a secondary metabolite of cells and a very important natural food flavor. More importantly, it is non-toxic to the human body and has been proven to have a good antibacterial effect, but its antibacterial mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, it was of great practical significance to carry out the research on the antibacterial mechanism of CEO on S. enteritidis. In this work, S. enteritidis was used as the test bacteria, and CEO was selected as the antibacterial agent to study the antibacterial mechanisms. By studying the physiological metabolism of S. enteritidis cells by CEO, the influence of CEO on the bacteriostatic mechanism of S. enteritidis was systematically elucidated. The study found that CEO treatment would reduce the activity of bacterial metabolism. It is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: first, the activity of key enzymes in TCA circulation is inhibited, thus affecting the respiration of S. enteritidis. Second, it affects the level of energy metabolism by inhibiting the content of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the activity of ATPase. Finally, it can affect the physiological metabolism of bacteria by inhibiting the metabolism of proteins and other substances. Therefore, this article was expected to provide a theoretical basis for the development of new natural food preservatives and the prevention and control of S. enteritidis.