Persimmon Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins Exert Antibacterial Activity through Damaging the Cell Membrane and Disrupting the Energy Metabolism of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>
Ruifeng Wang, Yajie Zhang, Yangyang Jia, Mengying Zhang, Yunfei Huang, Chunmei Li, Kaikai Li
Abstract
Persimmon proanthocyanidins (P-PCs) have been reported with many bioactivity properties. However, high degrees of polymerization have seriously limited the applications of P-PCs in food processing. In the current study, the degradation of P-PCs to persimmon oligomeric proanthocyanidins (P-OPCs) was first performed by a high-pressure catalytic hydrogenolysis method; then, the antibacterial activities of P-OPCs and the possible underlying mechanisms were investigated in Staphylococcus aureus and also in an in vitro liposome model. The maximal yield of P-OPCs (64.5%) was achieved at 120 °C, 3 h, 3 MPa and 0.4 mg/mL of Pd/C with an average polymerization degree of 2.8. Compared with P-PCs, P-OPCs exhibited stronger antistaphylococcal potential with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.7 mg/mL (vs 1.1 mg/mL of P-PCs). Further studies indicated that P-OPCs could induce morphological damage to the cell membrane permeability and destroy the membrane integrity. The in vitro liposome model analysis also indicated that P-OPCs could disrupt the liposomes. Meanwhile, data also showed that the bacterial energy metabolism was disrupted by P-OPCs. In conclusion, P-OPCs have potential antimicrobial activities against S. aureus.