Taxifolin is a flavonoid commonly found in fruits and vegetables with a variety of bioactivities. However, it is unknown whether taxifolin has positive effects on food preservation. In the present study, the antibacterial activity and mechanism of taxifolin on two foodborne bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), were investigated for the first time. Besides, its applications in milk preservation were evaluated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of taxifolin on E. coli were 1.11 mg/mL and 2.22 mg/mL, while for S. aureus were 0.556 mg/mL and 1.11 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, taxifolin exhibited strong synergistic antibacterial activity with tetracycline. Taxifolin functions against the two strains of bacteria through damaging bacterial cell wall and membrane integrity, inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation, causing adversity and resulting in the increase of superoxide dismutase and alkaline phosphatase activities in bacteria. Moreover, morphological changes in bacteria were observed after exposure to taxifolin, including the formation of aggregates, irregular forms, wrinkled cell surfaces, and shriveling of cells. During milk storage, taxifolin significantly delayed the increase of acidity and the loss of lactose in milk through inhibiting the proliferation of bacteria. Hence, in addition to health-promoting bioactivities, taxifolin also has positive effects on food preservation because of antibacterial activity.

紫杉叶素是一种常见于水果和蔬菜中的黄酮类化合物，具有多种生物活性。然而，尚不清楚紫杉叶素是否对食品保鲜有积极作用。在本研究中，首次研究了紫杉叶素对大肠杆菌（E. coli）和金黄色葡萄球菌（S. aureus ）这两种食源性细菌的抗菌活性和机制。此外，还评估了其在牛奶保鲜方面的应用。紫杉叶素对大肠杆菌的最低抑菌浓度 (MIC) 和最低杀菌浓度 (MBC)分别为 1.11 mg/mL 和 2.22 mg/mL，而对金黄色葡萄球菌的最低抑菌浓度 (MIC) 和最低杀菌浓度 (MBC)分别为 0.556 毫克/毫升和 1.11 毫克/毫升。此外，紫杉叶素与四环素具有很强的协同抗菌活性。紫杉叶素通过破坏细菌细胞壁和膜完整性，抑制细菌生物膜形成，引起逆境并导致细菌中超氧化物歧化酶和碱性磷酸酶活性增加来对抗这两种细菌。此外，在暴露于紫杉叶素后观察到细菌的形态变化，包括聚集体的形成、不规则形状、细胞表面起皱和细胞皱缩。在储奶过程中，紫杉叶素通过抑制细菌增殖，显着延缓了牛奶中酸度的升高和乳糖的流失。因此，除了促进健康的生物活性外，