Antibacterial mechanism of Protocatechuic acid against Yersinia enterocolitica and its application in pork

Protocatechuic acid (PCA) has adequate antibacterial activity against foodborne pathogens; however, its antibacterial mechanism has been rarely investigated. Therefore, this study attempts to elucidate the antibacterial mechanism of PCA against Yersinia enterocolitica. The corresponding results showed that PCA had a satisfactory antibacterial effect on Y. enterocolitica with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2.5 mg/mL. Accordingly, depolarization of the cell membrane, reduction of intracellular pH (pHin) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), leakage of K+ and destruction of cell morphology were observed in this study, which indicated that PCA changed the membrane permeability of Y. enterocolitica. According to the metabolomics analysis, PCA induced the differential expression of the metabolites of Y. enterocolitica. In addition, enrichment analysis of metabolic pathways demonstrated that PCA disordered energy metabolism and amino acid biosynthesis of Y. enterocolitica. PCA also exhibited a notable inhibitory effect on Y. enterocolitica in pork. According to the corresponding findings, PCA may possess potential antibacterial properties in controlling Y. enterocolitica contamination within food industry.