Determining Mechanisms of Action and Optimum Use of Polyphenols As Food Preservatives

防腐剂是各种食品中的关键成分，它的存在是为了控制致病性和腐败生物体的生长，保持产品质量和保质期。目前在这方面使用的化学品范围很广，包括有机酸、盐和各种亚硝酸盐化合物。其中一些添加剂，如亚硝酸钠和亚硝酸钾，有潜在的健康问题1,2，因此工业界对探索既能保持抗菌活性又具有更好安全性的替代品非常感兴趣。多酚是从植物中提取的多种天然产物，具有多种特性，包括抗菌活性。由于多酚被认为是安全的，人们对在各种食品中使用多酚作为防腐剂产生了极大的兴趣。Prosur是一种市售多酚混合物，目前被添加到各种食品中，或被评估是否与其他食品合并。尽管多酚具有作为抗菌剂的潜力，但在其作用机制、活性谱或潜在细菌耐药性方面存在重大知识空白。本项目旨在从一个精心策划的小组中确定活性多酚，确定其作用机制，并调查食源性病原体对多酚暴露的反应。最终目标是为食品中使用的改良多酚配方的开发提供信息。该项目将结合分析化学、微生物学和功能基因组学，为这些问题提供互补的方法。

Preservatives are crucial ingredients in a wide range of foods which are present in order to control growth of pathogenic and spoilage organisms and maintain product quality and shelf life. A wide range of chemicals are currently used in this context including organic acids, salts and various nitrite compounds. Some of these additives, for example sodium and potassium nitrite, have potential health concerns1, 2 and there is great interest in industry in exploring alternatives3 which can retain antimicrobial activity but have a better safety profile. Polyphenols are a diverse group of natural products, extracted from plants which have multiple properties including antimicrobial activity4. Due to their perceived safety there has been great interest in using polyphenols as preservatives in various food stuffs5. Prosur is one commercially available polyphenol mixture currently being added to various foods or evaluated for incorporation in others. Despite the potential for polyphenols as antimicrobials there are major knowledge gaps regarding their mechanisms of action, spectrum of activity or potential bacterial resistance. This project aims to identify active polyphenols from a well curated panel and determine their mechanisms of action and investigate how foodborne pathogens respond to polyphenol exposure. The ultimate goal is to inform development of improved polyphenol formulations to be used in food.The project will incorporate analytical chemistry, microbiology and functional genomics to provide complementary approaches to these problems.