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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1462696

Cryptophytes as potential source of natural antimicrobials for food preservation

Provisionally accepted
Maryam Abidizadegan Maryam Abidizadegan 1*Elina Peltomaa Elina Peltomaa 2Polina Ilina Polina Ilina 3Päivi Tammela Päivi Tammela 3Jaanika Blomster Jaanika Blomster 1
  • 1 Ecosystem and Environmental Research program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
  • 2 Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
  • 3 Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Cryptophytes are a promising source of bioactive compounds that have not been fully explored. This research investigated the antimicrobial activity of total phenolic compounds (TPC) and exopolysaccharides (EPS) extracted from several cryptophytes against a range of harmful foodborne bacteria and fungi. To measure the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value, the broth microdilution method was used. In the antibacterial evaluation of TPC, the MIC ranged between 31.25 and 500 µg/ml, while for the antifungal activity test, it varied from 31.25 to 125 µg/ml. In the antibacterial activity test of EPS, the MIC values ranged from 125 to 1000 µg/ml, whereas in the antifungal susceptibility test, it ranged between 62.5 and 1000 µg/ml. The most resistant pathogen against TPC was Escherichia coli, while Campylobacter jejuni was the most susceptible. In the case of EPS, the most resistant pathogen was Salmonella Typhimurium, while Aspergillus versicolor exhibited the highest susceptibility. Overall, in terms of antimicrobial activity, TPC was more effective than EPS. Finally, the tolerance level (TL) for TPC and EPS was ≤4 in all tested samples, indicating their bactericidal/fungicidal mechanism of action. In conclusion, TPC and EPS isolated from cryptophytes demonstrated remarkable antimicrobial properties and ability to fully eradicate pathogens, and could be considered as natural preservatives in the food industry.

    Keywords: Cryptophytes, exopolysaccharides, phenolic compounds, Antimicrobial activity, Food-borne pathogens

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 10 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Abidizadegan, Peltomaa, Ilina, Tammela and Blomster. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Maryam Abidizadegan, Ecosystem and Environmental Research program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.