Quality aspects of Gouda cheese made from goat milk preserved by the lactoperoxidase system

Effects of mono- and disaccharides on the antimicrobial activity of bovine lactoperoxidase system

The effects of mono- and disaccharides on the antimicrobial activity of the lactoperoxidase (LPO) system against Salmonella Enteritidis were investigated. The results clearly reveal that most of the sugars inhibit the antimicrobial activity of the LPO system. The inhibitory potency varies depending on the structure of sugar. L-Fructose and D-allose were strongly inhibitive to the action of the LPO system, while sucrose was the weakest inhibitor. The decreased antimicrobial activity is due to the reduction of LPO catalytic activity by sugar. An inhibitory kinetic study showed the noncompetitive inhibitor. D-Allose and L-fructose yielded strikingly low K(i) values of 0.36 and 0.42 mM, respectively, while the K(i) values of the other sugars ranged from 1.37 to 3.60 mM. Since LPO activity is inhibited by the saccharides, the sugar content in food should be considered when the LPO system is applied to the preservation of food.

Role of porins in sensitivity of Escherichia coli to antibacterial activity of the lactoperoxidase enzyme system

Lactoperoxidase is an enzyme that contributes to the antimicrobial defense in secretory fluids and that has attracted interest as a potential biopreservative for foods and other perishable products. Its antimicrobial activity is based on the formation of hypothiocyanate (OSCN-) from thiocyanate (SCN-), using H2O2 as an oxidant. To gain insight into the antibacterial mode of action of the lactoperoxidase enzyme system, we generated random transposon insertion mutations in Escherichia coli MG1655 and screened the resultant mutants for an altered tolerance of bacteriostatic concentrations of this enzyme system. Out of the ca. 5,000 mutants screened, 4 showed significantly increased tolerance, and 2 of these had an insertion, one in the waaQ gene and one in the waaO gene, whose products are involved in the synthesis of the core oligosaccharide moiety of lipopolysaccharides. Besides producing truncated lipopolysaccharides and displaying hypersensitivity to novobiocin and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), these mutants were also shown by urea-SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis to have reduced amounts of porins in their outer membranes. Moreover, they showed a reduced degradation of p-nitrophenyl phosphate and an increased resistance to ampicillin, two indications of a decrease in outer membrane permeability for small hydrophilic solutes. Additionally, ompC and ompF knockout mutants displayed levels of tolerance to the lactoperoxidase system similar to those displayed by the waa mutants. These results suggest that mutations which reduce the porin-mediated outer membrane permeability for small hydrophilic molecules lead to increased tolerance to the lactoperoxidase enzyme system because of a reduced uptake of OSCN-.