Use of ferulic acid as a novel candidate of growth inhibiting agent against Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food

In this study, we investigated the use of ferulic acid, a type of phenolic acid, as a novel method for growth inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes, the causative agent of foodborne disease listeriosis. Ferulic acid showed an inhibitory effect against L. monocytogenes, with MIC values that did not differ among strains. In addition, when L. monocytogenes was inoculated onto cheese and smoked salmon, which are typical RTE food products, effective growth inhibition was achieved. Ferulic acid, a natural product extracted from plants, has been already used as a safe additive with antioxidant activity. This is the first report in which the bacterial growth inhibition by ferulic acid was studied in foods. Despite the relative ineffectiveness of ferulic acid at concentration of 1500 ppm against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica, and Pseudomonas fluorescens, its ability to selectively inhibit L. monocytogenes makes it useful to control this bacterium in RTE foods, since most of the other bacteria donʹt grow or survive for long at low storage temperatures. Therefore, the use of ferulic acid is promising as a novel control method against L. monocytogenes in food industries dealing with RTE food products.