Antimicrobial effect of kaempferol on psychrotrophic Bacillus cereus strains outbreakable in dairy products

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial effects of various natural flavonoids against growth of psychotropic Bacillus cereus strains, which cause dairy food outbreaks. Flavonoids were first screened for their ability to inhibit growth of B. cereus strains using the paper-disc diffusion test. Second, the growth inhibitory effect of selected flavonoids was evaluated in tryptic soy broth supplemented with 0.6% yeast extract, and the bactericidal effect of the flavonoids was measured in 0.8% (w/v) NaCl solution. Based on the paper-disc diffusion test, kaempferol was effectively active against B. cereus P14 and B. cereus KCCM 40935. Kaempferol had an antimicrobial effect at concentrations greater than 100 μM, and the numbers of B. cereus P14 and B. cereus KCCM 40935 decreased by 3.55 and 1.5 log cycles, respectively. The cell numbers of B. cereus P14 and B. cereus KCCM 40935 treated with 50 μM kaempferol were reduced by 4.18 and 2.84 log cycles during a 24 h incubation to test the bactericidal effect of kaempferol (p<0.05). The results indicate that kaempferol had the greatest antimicrobial effect among the psychotropic B. cereus strains and the natural flavonoids tested.