Exopolysaccharides as Antimicrobial Agents: Mechanism and Spectrum of Activity

Abdelmoneim K Abdalla; Mutamed M Ayyash; Amin N Olaimat; Tareq M Osaili; Anas A Al-Nabulsi; Nagendra P Shah; Richard Holley

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.664395

Exopolysaccharides as Antimicrobial Agents: Mechanism and Spectrum of Activity

Front Microbiol. 2021 May 19:12:664395. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.664395. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Abdelmoneim K Abdalla¹, Mutamed M Ayyash², Amin N Olaimat³, Tareq M Osaili^{4

5}, Anas A Al-Nabulsi⁵, Nagendra P Shah⁶, Richard Holley⁷

Affiliations

¹ Food Science Department, College of Agriculture, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt.
² Department of Food Science, College of Food and Agriculture, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
³ Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
⁴ Department Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
⁵ Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
⁶ Food and Nutritional Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
⁷ Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Abstract

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are metabolites synthesized and excreted by a variety of microorganisms, including lactic acid bacteria (LAB). EPS serve several biological functions such as interactions between bacteria and their environments, protection against hostile conditions including dehydration, the alleviation of the action of toxic compounds (bile salts, hydrolyzing enzymes, lysozyme, gastric, and pancreatic enzymes, metal ions, antibiotics), and stresses (changing pH, osmolarity), and evasion of the immune response and phage attack. Bacterial EPSs are considered valuable by the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries, owing to their health-promoting benefits and rheological impacts. Numerous studies have reported the unusual antimicrobial activities of various EPS against a wide variety of pathogenic microbes (bacteria, virus, and fungi). This review aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activities of different EPSs, mainly against foodborne bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. The mechanism of EPS action against these pathogens as well as the methods used to measure antimicrobial activities are critically reviewed.

Keywords: antibacterial; antifungal; antiviral; biopolymers; biopreservative.

Publication types

Review