Grapefruit juice and its furocoumarins inhibits autoinducer signaling and biofilm formation in bacteria

• Published in: International journal of food microbiology 2008-07, Vol.125 (2), p.204-208
• Main Authors: Girennavar, Basavaraj, Cepeda, Martha L., Soni, Kamlesh A., Vikram, Amit, Jesudhasan, Palmy, Jayaprakasha, G.K., Pillai, Suresh D., Patil, Bhimanagouda S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; antibacterial properties; Autoinducers; bacterial contamination; Beverages; biofilm; Biofilms - growth & development; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Cell-cell signaling; chemical composition; Citrus paradisi; Colony Count, Microbial; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli O157 - drug effects; Escherichia coli O157 - physiology; Escherichia coli O157:H7; essential oils; Food Contamination - prevention & control; Food industries; Food Microbiology; food pathogens; food preservatives; fruit extracts; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Furocoumarins; Furocoumarins - isolation & purification; Furocoumarins - pharmacology; gene overexpression; genes; Gram-negative bacteria; Gram-Negative Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Negative Bacteria - physiology; Gram-positive bacteria; Gram-Positive Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Positive Bacteria - physiology; grapefruit juice; lactones; natural additives; oligopeptides; plant extracts; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - drug effects; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - physiology; psoralens; Quorum Sensing; Salmonella typhimurium; Salmonella typhimurium - drug effects; Salmonella typhimurium - physiology; Signal Transduction; Vibrio harveyi; virulence; Vitaceae
• ISSN: 0168-1605; 1879-3460
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2008.03.028

Cell-to-cell communications in bacteria mediated by small diffusible molecules termed as autoinducers (AI) are known to influence gene expression and pathogenicity. Oligopeptides and N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHL) are major AI molecules involved in intra-specific communication in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria respectively, whereas boronated-diester molecules (AI-2) are involved in inter-specific communication among both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Naturally occurring furocoumarins from grapefruit showed > 95% inhibition of AI-1 and AI-2 activities based on the Vibrio harveyi based autoinducer bioassay. Grapefruit juice and furocoumarins also inhibited biofilm formation by Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These results suggest that grape fruit juice and furocoumarins could serve as a source to develop bacterial intervention strategies targeting microbial cell signaling processes.