In Vitro synergy of nisin and coenzyme Q(0) against Staphylococcus aureus

摘要

Nisin has been widely used as a natural preservative in foods including dairy products, but the emergence of the nisin-resistant strains could compromise its use to control food-borne pathogens. It has been reported that coenzyme Q (CoQ) is a powerful antioxidant, but a small number of studies have described the antibacterial activity of CoQ, One of the most abundant forms of CoQ is CoQ(10). CoQ(0) is chosen for this study, which is the water-soluble homolog of CoQ(10). In the present study, the in vitro interaction of nisin and CoQ(0) against 15 food-borne isolates of Staphylococcus aureus was assessed using a checkerboard microdilution method. Synergism was observed in strains tested, the FICI values ranging from 0.25 to 0.375. No antagonistic interaction between nisin and CoQ(0) occurred. The positive interactions were verified confirmed using the time-killing test and agar diffusion assay. Our discovery of efficacy of combining nisin with CoQ(0) might pave the way for a novel solution for spoilage problem in food industry and provide an alternative approach to overcome antimicrobial drug resistance