Foods contaminated by harmful substances such as bacteria and viruses have caused more than 200 kinds of diseases, ranging from diarrhea to cancer. Among them, Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a foodborne pathogen that commonly contaminates raw meat, fresh vegetables, rice, and uncooked food. The current chemical preservatives may have adverse effects on food and even human health. Therefore, natural antibacterial agents are sought after as alternative preservatives. Stilbene compounds, including pterostilbene (PT), pinostilbene (PS), and piceatannol (PIC), which have many health benefits and exhibit antibacterial activity, were tested against B. cereus. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of PT, PS, and PIC against B. cereus ranged from 25 to 100 μg/mL. From the time-kill curve assay, PT reduced B. cereus cell survival, increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and induced apoptosis-like cell death (ALD) in a dose-dependent manner. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) results confirmed that treatment with PT induced genetic changes related to ALD, such as an increase in RecA gene expression and a decrease in LexA gene expression. In addition, PT showed a beneficial effect on the gut microbiota that increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes and lowered the abundance of Firmicutes. Taken together, our results showed that PT has antibacterial effects against B. cereus via ALD and is beneficial for promoting healthy gut microbiota that is worthy for the development of antibacterial agents for the food industry.

中文翻译：

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通过凋亡样细胞死亡评估紫檀芪对蜡样芽孢杆菌的抗菌机制及其对肠道微生物群的有益影响

被细菌、病毒等有害物质污染的食物，已经导致了200多种疾病，从腹泻到癌症。其中，蜡状芽孢杆菌（B. cereus）是一种食源性病原体，常污染生肉、新鲜蔬菜、大米和生食。目前的化学防腐剂可能对食品甚至人类健康产生不利影响。因此，寻求天然抗菌剂作为替代防腐剂。包括紫檀芪 (PT)、松芪 (PS) 和 piceatannol (PIC) 在内的芪化合物对B. cereus进行了测试，它们具有许多健康益处并具有抗菌活性. PT、PS 和 PIC 对蜡状芽孢杆菌的最低抑菌浓度 (MIC) 和最低杀菌浓度 (MBC)范围为 25 至 100 μg/mL。从时间-杀伤曲线分析来看，PT以剂量依赖性方式降低了蜡状芽孢杆菌细胞存活率，增加了细胞内活性氧 (ROS)，并诱导了细胞凋亡样细胞死亡 (ALD)。定量实时聚合酶链反应 (qPCR) 结果证实，PT 治疗会诱导与 ALD 相关的遗传变化，例如 RecA 基因表达增加和 LexA 基因表达减少。此外，PT 显示出对肠道微生物群的有益影响，增加了拟杆菌的丰度并降低了厚壁菌的丰度. 总之，我们的结果表明 PT通过 ALD对蜡样芽孢杆菌具有抗菌作用，并且有利于促进健康的肠道微生物群，值得为食品工业开发抗菌剂。