Phenolic compounds from the edible seeds extract of Chinese Mei (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc) and their antimicrobial activity

Prunus mume seeds have been used as a healthy food and traditional drug in China. The present study investigated the phenolic compounds and antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract from seeds of P. mume. Total phenolic content was determined as gallic acid equivalents by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The antibacterial activity was measured by a filter paper disc method. Three chlorogenic acid isomers, namely, 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4-O-caffeoylquinic acid, were identified from P. mume seeds for the first time. The contents of these isolated compounds were quantified by HPLC. Results showed that 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid was of the highest level in these three isomers. The ethanolic extract exhibited inhibition activity against bacteria and fungi obviously. The isolated phenolic compounds also exhibited inhibition activity against bacteria significantly, but showed weak or no inhibition activity against yeasts and mold. The results exhibited that the antimicrobial activity of P. mume seeds may be partly due to the phenolic compounds.     

酚酸对水产品腐败希瓦氏菌的抑菌作用

比较了没食子酸、原儿茶酸和绿原酸3种酚酸对腐败希瓦氏菌的抑制活性,并通过扫描电镜、流式细胞仪、细胞膜完整性和通透性测定等探讨了没食子酸对腐败希瓦氏菌的抑菌作用。结果表明:3种酚酸中没食子酸对腐败希瓦氏菌的抑制活性最强,其最小抑菌浓度和最小杀菌浓度分别为1.25,2.50mg/mL。经最小抑菌浓度没食子酸处理后,腐败希瓦氏菌细胞形态改变,表面有明显凹陷;细胞凋亡率明显增高;核酸和蛋白泄漏增加,细胞膜完整性遭到破坏;细胞膜通透性增加,胞内电解质大量泄漏至培养液中。     

Antimicrobial activity of binary combinations of natural and synthetic phenolic antioxidants against Enterococcus faecalis

This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of 3 natural (thymol, carvacrol, and gallic acid) and 2 synthetic [butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and octyl gallate] phenolic compounds, individually and in binary combinations, on 4 dairy isolates of Enterococcus faecalis with different virulence factors (β-hemolytic, gelatinase, or trypsin activities; acquired resistance to erythromycin or tetracycline; and natural resistance to gentamicin). A checkerboard technique and a microdilution standardized method were used. All compounds individually tested exhibited antimicrobial activity against E. faecalis, with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 30 μg/mL (octyl gallate) to 3,150 μg/mL (gallic acid), although no significant differences were detected among strains to each phenolic compound. Carvacrol in combination with thymol or gallic acid, and gallic acid combined with octyl gallate showed partial synergistic inhibition of all E. faecalis strains. The most effective combinations were thymol + carvacrol and gallic acid + octyl gallate, as the MIC for each of these compounds was reduced by 67 to 75% compared with their respective individual MIC. These results highlight the possibility of using combinations of these phenolic compounds to inhibit the growth of potential virulent or spoilage E. faecalis strains by reducing the total amount of additives used in dairy foods.     

UVC-GA抑制牡蛎肉质表面E.coli O157∶H7生长

紫外辐射食没子酸抑菌液（UVC-GA）是通过紫外线短波（UV-C）辐照没食子酸（GA）开发一种新型光诱导增强GA抑菌的方法,将UV-C辐照GA 12 h形成新型UVC-GA抑菌液,E. coli O157：H7减少量达3.57 log cfu/mL,比GA显著高22.33倍。UVC-GA的抑菌活性受辐照时间、波长和pH的影响,60 min辐照后使E. coli O157：H7减少4.42 log cfu/mL,比紫外线中波UVB-GA和紫外线长波UVA-GA显著高64.25%和223.47%,pH 3下比pH 7和pH 11分别高94.23倍和87.62倍。UVC-GA加入苯磺酸（BSA）后抗菌活性显著降低至0.63 log cfu/mL（p<0.05）,说明UVC-GA内的醌类化合物增强了其抗菌活性。加入活性氧（ROS）猝灭剂,UVC-GA比二甲基亚甲砜（DMSO）和甘露醇处理组比UVC-GA抗菌效果显著降低了4.56%和8.15%（p<0.05）,且UVC-GA内有过氧化氢的生成及E. coli O157：H7氧化应激水平增加,表明ROS在UVC-GA的抗菌作用中也起着一定的作用。结果表明,UVC-GA可有效抑制牡蛎肉质表面E. coli O157：H7,正确处理UV-C辐照的GA可作为一种新型抑菌液应用于牡蛎或其它食品的抑菌。     

余甘子果实提取物活性成分分离及结构鉴定

以余甘子果实为原料提取其有效成分,经溶剂萃取及柱层析进行初步分离纯化后,得到A、B、C、D、E五个组分,其中组分C、D显现出较高的抑菌性;组分C、D经硅胶柱层析和Sephadex LH-20柱层析进一步纯化后,得到五个单体化合物。对这五个单体化合物作抑菌活性实验,发现其中三个具有抑菌性,采用NMR、MS等分析方法对其结构进行鉴定,结果表明,这三个组分分别是：没食子酸(gallic acid)、槲皮素(quercetin)和齐墩果酸(oleanolic)。     

栓皮栎橡子果仁多酚抗氧化与抑菌活性研究

采用溶剂萃取秦巴山区栓皮栎橡子果仁,大孔树脂分离纯化、紫外光谱分析、红外光谱分析、高效液相色谱(High performance liquid chromatography,HPLC)分析栓皮栎橡子果仁多酚的成分组成,DPPH自由基清除率、ABTS⁺自由基清除率等、抑菌圈直径研究了其抗氧化活性及抑菌特性。结果表明:栓皮栎橡子果仁粗多酚得率为20.5%,其多酚含量为345 mg/g没食子酸当量,经D4020大孔树脂纯化后多酚得率为34%,多酚含量提高至702 mg/g没食子酸当量;紫外光谱分析、红外光谱分析表明其结构中均具有酚羟基、羰基和芳烃C=C骨架等结构;HPLC分析纯化的橡子果仁多酚至少含有28种物质,其中包括咖啡酸、原儿茶酸、鞣花酸、阿魏酸、槲皮素和山奈酚6种多酚物质,含量分别为24.9、14.6、3.2、2.2、0.5、0.2 mg/g;橡子果仁纯多酚及对照V_C清除DPPH自由基的IC₅₀值分别为2.50、3.20 μg/mL,清除ABTS⁺自由基IC₅₀值分别为28.67、28.82 μg/mL,ABTS⁺自由基清除能力与V_C相当,对Fe³⁺还原能力与V_C差异较小,但对亚铁离子螯合能力远低于EDTA-2Na,抗脂质过氧化能力与V_C相当,说明栓皮栎橡子仁多酚具有较强抗氧化能力;栓皮栎橡子仁粗多酚、纯多酚均对阪崎杆菌、沙门氏菌、金黄色葡萄球菌及大肠杆菌具有较强抑制作用,对李斯特菌的抑制作用较弱。研究结果表明栓皮栎橡子果仁多酚含量丰富,其多酚具有较强抗氧化性和广谱抑菌活性,是开发保健品和天然抗菌剂的良好材料。     

Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Cichorium Intybus Root Extract Using Orthogonal Matrix Design

Solvent, impregnation time, sonication repetitions, and ultrasonic power were important factors in the process of ultrasound‐assisted extraction from chicory (Cichorium intybus) root, while there were no studies about optimizing these 4 factors for extract yield, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activity of the extracts using orthogonal matrix design. The present research demonstrated that the solvent composition played a significant role in the improving extract yield, TPC, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities. The other 3 factors had inequable effect on different purposes, ultrasonic power could improve TPC and antioxidant activity, but long time of extraction lowered antioxidant activity. The TPC increased from 22.34 to 27.87 mg GAE (gallic acid equivalents)/100 g (dry extracts) with increasing solvent polarity. The half inhibition concentration (IC_50, μg/mL) of the radical scavenging activity of the chicory extracts ranged from 281.00 to 983.33 μg/mL. The content of caffeoylquinic acids of root extract, which was extracted by the optimal combination was 0.104%. Several extracts displayed antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus subtilis, and Salmonella typhi, while Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. resisted against all the extracts. Combination of 70% ethanol v/v, 24‐h impregnation time, 3 sonication rounds, and 300‐W ultrasonic input power was found to be the optimal combination for the chicory extract yield, TPC, antioxidant activity, and antibacterial activity.     

Screening and identification of the antibacterial bioactive compounds from Lonicera japonica Thunb. leaves

Our aim was to screen for antibacterial bioactive compounds from Lonicera japonica leaves. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were used as the indicator bacteria. Bacteriostatic assay-guided extraction and stepwise partitioning of the samples yielded five compounds of interest. Antimicrobial activities of the compounds were determined using a disk diffusion assay. Extracts, fractions, and compounds from L. japonica leaves possessed considerable antibacterial activities against the tested bacterial strains and the most active fraction was attributed to J3B2, which primarily contained 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid. Meanwhile, five bacteriostatic constituents were isolated (3-O-caffeoylquinic acid, secoxyloganin, luteoloside, 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid), among which, secoxyloganin was isolated for the first time from leaves. The antibacterial activity of the compounds was in the order of 3,5-bis-O-caffeoyl quinic acid, 4,5-bis-O-caffeoylquinic acid, luteoloside > 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid > secoxyloganin. Our results suggested that the phenolic compounds might significantly contribute to antibacterial activity and were the most responsible for the bacteriostatic activity of L. japonica leaves.     

Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus by Phenolic Phytochemicals of Selected Clonal Herbs Species of Lamiaceae Family and Likely Mode of Action through Proline Oxidation

Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram-positive organism, is responsible for numerous infections ranging in severity from skin and soft tissue infections to endocarditis and septic arthritis. Further, Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) caused by enterotoxigenic staphylococci is one of the main food-borne diseases. In this study, several single-seed origin clonal lines of herbs from Lamiaceae family were screened for antimicrobial applications against S. aureus. These clonal lines have consistent total phenolic content, phenolic profile and antioxidant activity as opposed to heterogenous phenolic profiles of typical herbal extracts. The clonal extracts of specific herb species were evaluated for anti- S. aureus activity. Water extracts of clonal lemon balm had the highest anti- S. aureus activity followed by clonal extracts of rosemary RoLA, sage, oregano, rosemary Ro-6, rosemary RoK-2 and chocolate mint. The anti- S. aureus activity of the water extracts correlated with gallic acid and caffeic acid content, which in pure form showed high anti- S. aureus activity. Based on the rationale that gallic acid and caffeic acid were likely proline analogs affecting proline oxidation, the countering effect of proline to overcome their anti- S. aureus activity was evaluated. Results indicated proline can overcome the inhibitory effects of gallic acid and caffeic acid. These results point to the likely role of phenolic oxidation via proline dehydrogenase, which could be an important target for inhibition by phenolic phytochemicals behaving as proline analog mimics. This mode of regulation by phenolics at the bacterial proline dehydrogenase in the plasma membrane may be an important antimicrobial defense in plants and has consequences for disruption of critical energy metabolism of invading bacterial pathogen. This rationale could be used to design new antimicrobial strategies against S. aureus and other relevant bacterial pathogens.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Borago officinalis</Emphasis> L. flower: a comprehensive study on bioactive compounds and its health-promoting properties

The herbal plant Borago officinalis L. flower were analysed for its bioactive compounds and antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities using different solvent polarities (methanol, ethanol and water). The RP-HPLC analyses of the methanolic extract confirmed the presence of phenolics (gallic acid, pyrogallol, salicylic acid, caffeic acid), flavonoids (myricetin, rutin) and isoflavonoid (daidzein). Besides, the major individual fatty acids of methanolic extract were α-linolenic, stearidonic, palmitic, linoleic and γ-linolenic acids. The methanolic extract possessed the highest antioxidant properties as compared to the ethanolic and water extracts. The flower methanolic, ethanolic and water extracts showed high, moderate and weak antibacterial activities against common human and foodborne pathogenic bacteria, respectively. Furthermore, the flower extracts showed weak anti-inflammatory in murine RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and low anticancer properties against human hepatic, prostate and colon cancer cells. This high-value flower could be considered as a source of putative antioxidant and antibacterial compounds to improve the human health and to be used as biopreservative in food and cosmetic industries.     

Antibacterial activities of naturally occurring compounds against antibiotic-resistant Bacillus cereus vegetative cells and spores, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus

After demonstrating the lack of effectiveness of standard antibiotics against the acquired antibiotic resistance of Bacillus cereus (NCTC 10989), Escherichia coli (NCTC 1186), and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 12715), we showed that the following natural substances were antibacterial against these resistant pathogens: cinnamon oil, oregano oil, thyme oil, carvacrol, (S)-perillaldehyde, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (beta-resorcylic acid), and 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine (dopamine). Exposure of the three pathogens to a dilution series of the test compounds showed that oregano oil was the most active substance. The oils and pure compounds exhibited exceptional activity against B. cereus vegetative cells, with oregano oil being active at nanogram per milliliter levels. In contrast, activities against B. cereus spores were very low. Activities of the test compounds were in the following approximate order: oregano oil > thyme oil approximately carvacrol > cinnamon oil > perillaldehyde > dopamine > beta-resorcylic acid. The order of susceptibilities of the pathogens to inactivation was as follows: B. cereus (vegetative) > S. aureus approximately E. coli > B. cereus (spores). Some of the test substances may be effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria in foods and feeds.     

壳聚糖—多酚复合膜研究进展

文章从壳聚糖与多酚类物质共价键合以及共混复合成膜角度出发,首先阐述了没食子酸、咖啡酸以及阿魏酸与壳聚糖共价膜的制备、机械性能、抗氧化以及抗菌性,进而综述了姜黄素、茶多酚以及苹果多酚与壳聚糖共混膜的性能。     

Free radical-scavenging phytochemicals of hot water extracts of Acacia confusa leaves detected by an on-line screening method

Acacia confusa Merr. (Leguminosae), a species native to Taiwan, is widely distributed on the hills and lowlands of Taiwan, and has been traditionally used as a medicine. In this study, phytochemicals and antioxidant activities of hot water extracts from A. confusa leaves were investigated for the first time. Among all the fractions from hot water extracts of leaves, the EtOAc-soluble fraction exhibits the best DPPH radical-scavenging activity, superoxide radical-scavenging activity, and reducing power. In addition, a rapid screening method, on-line RP-HPLC-DPPH system, for individual antioxidants in the EtOAc-soluble fraction was developed. Furthermore, following solid phase extraction (SPE) and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography 12 pure phenolic compounds, including five major compounds (gallic acid, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, myricetin 3-glucopyranoside, and myricetin 3-rhamnopyranoside) were detected using the developed screening method. These results demonstrated that hot water extracts of A. confusa leaves have excellent antioxidant activities and thus have great potential as a source for natural health products.     

蓝莓叶多酚组成及其抗食源性致病菌活性分析

利用高效液相色谱-二级质谱对蓝莓叶多酚组成进行研究,发现蓝莓叶多酚含有槲皮素-3-O-戊糖苷、绿原酸、新绿原酸、隐绿原酸、槲皮素-3-O-葡萄糖醛酸、山奈酚-3-O-葡萄糖苷、对香豆酰奎尼酸及B型原花青素二聚体等多种酚类物质;通过对6 种常见食源性致病菌的抗菌效果研究,发现蓝莓叶多酚具有广谱抗菌性,对鲍氏志贺氏菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、单增李斯特菌、大肠杆菌、肠炎沙门氏菌和枯草芽孢杆菌具有较好的抑制效果,对枯草芽孢杆菌（Bacillus subtilis,革兰氏阳性（G＋））和肠炎沙门氏菌（Salmonella enteritidis,革兰氏阴性（G－））最小抑菌浓度（minimal inhibitory concentration,MIC）＜9.30 mg/mL,对其他菌株的MIC＜4.65 mg/mL,抑菌活性由强到弱为：金黄色葡萄球菌＞大肠杆菌＞单增李斯特菌＞鲍氏志贺氏菌＞肠炎沙门氏菌＞枯草芽孢杆菌。结果表明：蓝莓叶多酚含有较多生物活性组分,抑菌性强且抑菌谱广泛,可以开发为新型天然防腐剂。     

50种植物源化合物对阪崎克罗诺肠杆菌的抑菌活性评价

阪崎克罗诺肠杆菌（Cronobacter sakazkaii）是一种食源性条件致病菌,它能够引起菌血症、坏死性小肠 结肠炎和新生儿脑膜炎等多种疾病。本研究选取50 种植物源化合物,检测其在含C. sakazkaii培养基中抑菌圈直径 及最小抑菌浓度（minimum inhibitory concentration,MIC）,旨在评价植物源化合物对C. sakazakii的抑菌作用并筛 查优选高效抑菌剂。结果表明：使C. sakazakii ATCC 29544培养基产生可见抑菌圈的植物源化合物有40 种,其中 7 种（香芹酚、百里醌、百里酚、肉桂醛、柠檬醛、原儿茶醛和原儿茶酸）的抑菌圈平均直径不小于13 mm;在本 研究选取的50 种植物源化合物中,百里酚和香芹酚对C. sakazakii有着最强的抑制作用,对9 株C. sakazkaii的MIC均 为0.1～0.2 mg/mL;百里醌、肉桂醛、柠檬醛和原儿茶醛对C. sakazkaii有良好的抑菌效果,对C. sakazkaii的MIC为 0.30～1.25 mg/mL;阿魏酸、绿原酸、丁香酸、硫辛酸、原儿茶酸、表儿茶素、咖啡酸、丹皮酚和菊苣酸的MIC为 2.50～5.00 mg/mL。以上结果表明,部分植物源化合物对C. sakazakii有良好的抑菌作用,有潜力作为天然抑菌剂应 用于食品加工、流通、贮藏过程中,从而发挥其控制C. sakazakii的作用。     

Alliinase-independent Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus B33 by Heated Garlic

ABSTRACT: Heated (121 °C) garlic extract in which alliinase was inactivated before crushing exhibited complete bacteriostatic activity at 15% against Staphylococcus aureus. Garlic heated for 45 min showed the highest antibacterial activity and the relative peak areas of 4-heptenal, methyl allyl disulfide, diallyl disulfide, 2-vinyl-4H-1,3-dithiin, and diallyl trisulfide (DATS) were highest at 45 min of heating. Other than 4-heptenal, all these compounds are known to possess different degrees of antibacterial activity. DATS was thought to be the primary antibacterial compound in heated garlic extract. It was tentatively concluded that antibacterial compounds were formed from alliin unreacted by alliinase by marked heating. Diallyl compounds with more than three sulfur atoms and the oxidized form of allicin were not detected.     

没食子酸及其衍生物对α-淀粉酶作用机制研究

实验采用碘-淀粉比色法研究没食子酸及其衍生物对α-淀粉酶的影响,结果显示:没食子酸和焦性没食子酸对α-淀粉酶具有明显的促进作用,而没食子酸酚羟基被甲基化后对α-淀粉酶的作用消失,说明酚羟基起到关键作用。当把没食子酸换成水杨酸后,对α-淀粉酶的作用由原来的促进变为抑制,说明没食子酸的三个酚羟基是缺一不可的。在探讨作用机制时发现,没食子酸的三个酚羟基可能是与α-淀粉酶三个催化所必需的酸性氨基酸残基形成稳定氢键、从而起到促进作用,而只有一个羟基的水杨酸与α-淀粉酶形成单键,可以旋转,不利于稳定α-淀粉酶的构象,从而起到抑制作用。根据本实验结果及大量文献资料可以得出以下结论:绝大多数具有酚羟基的化合物都能影响α-淀粉酶的活性,并且其作用机制都可能是通过与α-淀粉酶催化所必需的三个酸性氨基酸残基相结合来实现,其中只有一个酚羟基类的化合物可能只起到抑制作用。     

Phenolic composition,antioxidant, antibacterial,larvacidal against Culex pipiens,and cytotoxic activities of Hyacinthella lineata steudel extracts

This study reports the phenolic composition, antioxidant, antibacterial, larvacidal, and cytotoxic activity of methanol and acetone extracts of Hyacinthella lineata leaves and bulbs. The phenolic composition of H. lineata was determined by HPLC. The most abundant component was gallic acid (421.9µg/g). The β-carotene/DPPH/ABTS/FRAP decoloration method was used to estimate the total antioxidant activity. The total antioxidant activity was the highest for bulb-methanol fraction (65.41 ± 0.05%). The total phenolic content for leaves-methanol extract of the plant was determined as 6.56 ± 4.027mg/mL gallic acid equivalents. Analysis of the antibacterial activity showed that the methanolic-bulb extract are efficient against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The cytotoxic effect on Artemia salina was assessed by Brine shrimp assay. Brine shrimp lethality assay showed that LC₅₀ values of HBM were obtained as 4.105 ± 2.42μg/ml. The bulb extract of H. lineata showed the highest larvicidal activity against Cx pipiens with value LC₅₀ (64.3275μg/ml). This study suggested that H. lineata may be used as a potential source of antioxidant, and for their biological activity, cytotoxic and antimicrobial properties.     

Inhibition of Staphylococcus aureus by Phenolic Phytochemicals of Selected Clonal Herbs Species of Lamiaceae Family and Likely Mode of Action through Proline Oxidation

Staphylococcus aureus, a Gram-positive organism, is responsible for numerous infections ranging in severity from skin and soft tissue infections to endocarditis and septic arthritis. Further, Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) caused by enterotoxigenic staphylococci is one of the main food-borne diseases. In this study, several single-seed origin clonal lines of herbs from Lamiaceae family were screened for antimicrobial applications against S. aureus. These clonal lines have consistent total phenolic content, phenolic profile and antioxidant activity as opposed to heterogenous phenolic profiles of typical herbal extracts. The clonal extracts of specific herb species were evaluated for anti- S. aureus activity. Water extracts of clonal lemon balm had the highest anti- S. aureus activity followed by clonal extracts of rosemary RoLA, sage, oregano, rosemary Ro-6, rosemary RoK-2 and chocolate mint. The anti- S. aureus activity of the water extracts correlated with gallic acid and caffeic acid content, which in pure form showed high anti- S. aureus activity. Based on the rationale that gallic acid and caffeic acid were likely proline analogs affecting proline oxidation, the countering effect of proline to overcome their anti- S. aureus activity was evaluated. Results indicated proline can overcome the inhibitory effects of gallic acid and caffeic acid. These results point to the likely role of phenolic oxidation via proline dehydrogenase, which could be an important target for inhibition by phenolic phytochemicals behaving as proline analog mimics. This mode of regulation by phenolics at the bacterial proline dehydrogenase in the plasma membrane may be an important antimicrobial defense in plants and has consequences for disruption of critical energy metabolism of invading bacterial pathogen. This rationale could be used to design new antimicrobial strategies against S. aureus and other relevant bacterial pathogens.     

Antibacterial activities of phenolic benzaldehydes and benzoic acids against Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica

We evaluated the bactericidal activities of 35 benzaldehydes, 34 benzoic acids, and 1 benzoic acid methyl ester against Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica when these compounds were substituted on the benzene ring with 0, 1, 2, or 3 hydroxy (OH) and/or methoxy (OCH3) groups in a pH 7.0 buffer. Dose-response plots were used to determine the percentage of the sample that induced a 50% decrease in CFU after 60 min (BA50). Of the 70 compounds tested, 24 were found to be active against all four pathogens, and additional 4, 10, and 12 were found to be active against three, two, and one of the pathogens, respectively. C. jejuni was approximately 100 times as sensitive as the other three pathogens. The 10 compounds that were most active against the four pathogens (with average BA50 values ranging from 0.026 to 0.166) and are candidates for studies of activity in foods or for disinfections were 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2,3,4-trihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxy-5-methoxybenzaldehyde, 2,3-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-2,6-dimethoxybenzaldehyde, 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde. and 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde. Comparison of the chemical structures of the test compounds and their activities revealed that (i) the aldehyde (CHO) group was more active than the carboxyl (COOH) group whether or not OH groups were present; (ii) compounds were most active with trisubstituted OH > disubstituted OH > monosubstituted OH; (iii) for disubstituted derivatives, 2-OH enhanced activities were exhibited by benzaldehyde but not by benzoic acid; (iv) compounds were more active with OH than with OCH3, irrespective of the position of substitution on the benzene ring; (v) compounds with mixed OH and OCH3 groups exhibited variable results, i.e., in some cases OCH3 groups enhanced activity and in other cases they did not; (vi) methoxybenzoic acids were largely inactive; and (vii) gallic acid was 20 times as active against S. enterica at pH 7.0 as it was at pH 3.7, suggesting that the ionization of its OH groups may enhance bactericidal activity.