Perspectives on the use of organic acids and short chain fatty acids as antimicrobials.

By Steven C. Ricke. Poultry Science, 2003

1,018 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Organic acids have a long history of being utilized as food additives and preservatives for preventing food deterioration and extending the shelf life of perishable food ingredients. Specific organic acids have also been used to control microbial contamination and dissemination of foodborne pathogens in preharvest and postharvest food production and processing. The antibacterial mechanism(s) for organic acids are not fully understood, and activity may vary depending on physiological status of the organism and the physicochemical characteristics of the external environment. An emerging potential problem is that organic acids have been observed to enhance survivability of acid sensitive pathogens exposed to low pH by induction of an acid tolerance response and that acid tolerance may be linked to increased virulence. Although this situation has implications regarding the use of organic acids, it may only apply to circumstances in which reduced acid levels have induced resistance and virulence mechanisms in exposed organisms. Evaluating effectiveness of organic acids for specific applications requires more understanding general and specific stress response capabilities of foodborne pathogens. Development and application of molecular tools to study pathogen behavior in preharvest and postharvest food production environments will enable dissection of specific bacterial genetic regulation involved in response to organic acids. This could lead to the development of more targeted strategies to control foodborne pathogens with organic acids.

Subfields: Biotechnology, Food Science

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Citations in the corpus

Combined effects of dietary malic acid and Bacillus subtilis on growth, gut microbiota and blood parameters of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (2018, background): “3) and microbial control, because it inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria and pathogenic fungi (Ricke, 2003).”
Effects of dietary inclusion of triticale, rye and wheat and xylanase supplementation on growth performance of broiler chickens and fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract (2007, background): “, 2002) and may further play an important role in regulating the microflora populations (Van Der Wielen et al., 2000; Ricke, 2003).”
Effect of Using Organic Acids to Substitute Antibiotic Growth Promoters on Performance and Intestinal Microflora of Broilers (2010, background): “Organic acids have strong bacteriostatic effects and have been used as Salmonella-control agents in feed and water supplies for poultry (Ricke, 2003).”
Phytogenic additives and organic acids in broiler chicken diets (2012, background): “Additionally, undissociated organic acids can penetrate the lipid membrane of the bacterial cell and decrease intracellular pH, which leads to death (Ricke, 2003), in addition to stimulating pancreatic secretion and providing better intestinal villus integrity (Dibner & Buttin, 2002).”
Alternatives to antibiotics for maximizing growth performance and feed efficiency in poultry: a review (2017, background): “…are widely distributed in nature as normal constituents of animal or plant tissues and some of them (speci ﬁ cally SCFA) are produced in the hind gut of food animals and humans through microbial fermentation of carbohydrates (Van Der Wielen et al. , 2000; Ricke, 2003; Huyghebaert et al ., 2011).”
History of the use of antibiotic as growth promoters in European poultry feeds. (2007, background): “…as alternatives for replacing antibiotics to interact with the intestinal microflora , including enzymes (Bedford, 2000; Hruby and Cowieson, 2006), prebiotics, and probiotics (Patterson and Burkholder, 2003; Kocher, 2006), or acidification of diets (Ricke, 2003; Diebold and Eidelsburger, 2006).”
Short-chain fatty acids protect gnotobiotic Artemia franciscana from pathogenic Vibrio campbellii (2006, background): “Although the antibacterial mechanism(s) of these compounds are not completely understood, they are capable of exhibiting bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties depending on the physiological status of the organisms and the physicochemical characteristics of the external environment (Ricke, 2003)”
Effects of phenyllactic acid on production performance, egg quality parameters, and blood characteristics in laying hens (2009, result): “Previous studies have shown that organic acids exerted an antimicrobial effect in the gastrointestinal tract and improved the FCR of broilers [21–23].”
Dietary factors affecting hindgut protein fermentation in broilers: a review (2015, background): “…protein fermenting microbiota, especially the gram negative population in broilers (Gunal et al., 2006) by disrupting their energy metabolism (Ricke, 2003) and decreasing the hindgut pH. Feed ingredients, such as oligosaccharides and NSPs, affect hindgut pH by the production of VFAs (Van Der…”
Advances in Edible Coatings for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: A Review (2013, background): “While their actual mechanisms of action are not well understood, the antibacterial effectiveness of organic acids is thought to appear from the fact that protonated acids are membrane soluble, and can enter the cytoplasm by simple diffusion (Ricke, 2003).”
Performance of broilers fed diets supplemented with dry peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) or thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) leaves as growth promoter source (2018, background): “Prebiotics, probiotics and organic acids are three of several approaches that have the potential to reduce enteric diseases and improve performance in poultry and to decrease subsequent contamination of poultry products (Patterson and Burkholder, 2003; Ricke, 2003).”
Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Meal as a Promising Feed Ingredient for Poultry: A Comprehensive Review (2020, background): “Sustaining functional macromolecules of bacterial cells requires maintaining a neutral pH cytoplasm, which forces bacteria to dispose of excess protons and subsequently leads to depletion of cellular energy [152].”