Purification and partial characterization of antilisterial bacteriocin produced by Pediococcus pentosaceus KJBC11 from Idli batter fermented with Piper betle leaves

Bacteriocins are natural antimicrobial agents mainly act against closely related bacteria and at times unrelated organisms including various food spoilage and pathogenic organisms. Bacteriocins from Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) have been widely used for food preservation because of their safety nature. In this study, bacteriocin from Pediococcus pentosaceus KJBC11 was purified with the recovery of 15%, using cell adsorption‐desorption technique, gel permeation chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and reversed phase HPLC successively. Molecular weight of bacteriocin KJBC11 was determined to be 4.5 kDa using Tricine SDS‐PAGE. The bacteriocin KJBC11 showed strong inhibitory activity against various Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative pathogens. Bacteriocin KJBC11 activity was not altered when treated with amylase, lipase, and trypsin but inactivated by protease and proteinase enzyme treatment. It was heat stable (100°C, 1 hr) and exhibited strong antimicrobial activity within the pH 3–7. Its mode of action was bactericidal in nature as revealed against Listeria monocytogenes showing leakage of internal contents out of the cell. Bacteriocin KJBC11 could belong to Class IIa‐pediocin like bacteriocins based on its characteristics as well as the presence of pediocin gene in the genome of the isolate KJBC11.

Practical applications

Studies on Lactic Acid Bacteria and bacteriocin have attracted increasing attention for a long time, due to their established role in food fermentation and preservation. The antimicrobial properties of bacteriocin became a trademark approach to achieve food safety and to counter the menace of antibiotic resistant pathogens. This study revealed a potent bacteriocin with wide range of antibacterial activity against various foodborne and clinically important pathogens to have potential application in food preservation and biomedicine.