Synergy of Nisin Z and Sodium Chloride in the Inhibition of Food-Borne Pathogens and Quality Control of Aquatic Foods

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to investigate the combination of nisin Z and NaCl as a natural food preservative to improve the quality of fish products under refrigerated temperatures. Treatments against Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus included 1000 IU nisin Z (NZ) in 3% (NZ3), 5% (NZ5), or 7% NaCl solution (NZ7). Both NZ5 and NZ7 showed significantly higher antimicrobial activities, and minced Nile tilapia (Oreochromisniloticus) inoculated with L. monocytogenes or S. aureus showed a reduced microbial load compared to the positive control groups. Therefore, the combination of nisin Z and NaCl exhibited potent antibacterial activities, highlighting its usability as a natural alternative to synthetic preservatives.

KEYWORDS:

• Nisin Z
• natural food preservative
• aquatic food
• Listeria monocytogenes
• Staphylococcus aureus

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Research Grant of Pukyong National University [2021].