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Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1975 December; 8(6): 733-736
Copyright © 1975 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Antimicrobial Effect of Simple Lipids and the Effect of pH and Positive Ions

Kåre Larsson*, Börje Norén and Göran Odham

* Department of Food Technology, Chemistry Center, S-220 07 Lund 7, Sweden
Ecology Center, University of Lund, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden

ABSTRACT

Various branched fatty acids, particularly those of iso-configuration, have been shown to possess fungistatic and bacteriostatic properties. On the basis of their swelling effect on hyphae of Fusarium roseum it was suggested that this is due to an increase in the permeability of the plasma membrane. The solubilization of fatty acids in membranes should be expected to be influenced by the degree of dissociation and the presence of counter ions. Therefore, the effects of pH and K+, Na+, and Ca2+ ions were studied. It is demonstrated that the presence of the univalent ions, Na+ and K+, markedly enhances the fungistatic effect of iso-tetradecanoic acid, whereas the opposite effect is noted for the divalent ion, Ca2+. The effects are particularly pronounced at high pH. Furthermore, the antimicrobial effect obtained from the combination of fatty acid and tetramethylthiuramdisulfide is significantly enhanced in the presence of 0.1 and 0.2% KCl.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1975 December; 8(6): 733-736
Copyright © 1975 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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