Antibacterial Activity and Mechanism of Aureusidin Against Staphylococcus Aureus

Aureusidin is a novel compound with antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), yet the mechanism of aureusidin against S. aureus has not been completely described. The objective of this study aimed at evaluating the inhibition of the growth of S. aureus, investigating the antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of aureusidin against S. aureus. The mechanism of action of aureusidin was investigated by analysing its effects on the cell morphology, the membrane permeability, the electrical conductivity, the nucleic acid leakage and the protein release at MIC. The respiratory rate of S. aureus decreased when the concentration of aureusidin was increased to MIC, and was the same as malonic acid. This inferred that the TCA cycle was restrained, reducing the energy transfer of S. aureus and inhibiting the growth of S. aureus. Thus, these results showed that aureusidin had a strong antibacterial effect on inhibiting the growth of S. aureus and provided application potential in the field on food preservatives.