Natural antimicrobial agent (reuterin) produced by lactobacillus reuteri for sanitization of biological tissues inoculated with pseudomonas aeruginosa

The study was done to evaluate the efficacy of using reuterin produced by Lactobacillus reuteri to sanitize biological tissues. The microorganism tested in the study was Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common cause of nosocomial biomaterial‐related infections. The inhibitory effect of reuterin on P. aeruginosa for an inoculated tissue was investigated at different conditions of concentration, temperature, and pH. Additionally, the cellular compatibility of the reuterin‐sanitized tissue was evaluated. Glutaraldehyde was employed as a control. It was noted that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC, 33.0 ± 2.9 ppm) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC, 50.0 ± 0.0 ppm) values of reuterin for P. aeruginosa were significantly lower than their glutaraldehyde counterparts (MIC, 130.0 ± 8.2 ppm and MBC, 180.0 ± 18.3 ppm). This indicated that reuterin was more efficient than glutaraldehyde as an antimicrobial agent. The addition of reuterin on the inoculated tissue led to a reduced viability of P. aeruginosa. The reduction in the P. aeruginosa culture was more pronounced with increasing the concentration of reuterin (0–100 ppm). At increasing temperature (25–45°C), there was an increasing effect of reuterin on its sanitization activity. However, it should be pointed out that the growth of P. aeruginosa in the nutrient broth was also significantly affected by temperature. The sanitization activity of reuterin was more evident with increasing the pH level (pH 6.5–8.5). The cytotoxicity of reuterin was significantly lower than that of glutaraldehyde. Additionally, the cellular compatibility of the reuterin‐sanitized tissue was superior to its glutaraldehyde‐sanitized counterpart. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 84: 233–239, 2003.