T. Bell, J. L. Etchells, A. F. Borg
May 1, 1959
Citations
1
Influential Citations
56
Citations
Journal
Journal of Bacteriology
Abstract
Interest in the use of sorbic acid (2,4-hexadienoic acid) as a food preservative and fungistatic agent was stimulated by Gooding in 1945 and by the report of its harmlessness as a dietary component by Deuel et al. (1954). The numerous reports which followed, especially those which dealt with sorbic acid as a selective inhibitor of certain microorganisms (Emard and Vaughn, 1952; York and Vaughn, 1954, 1955; Hansen and Appleman, 1955; Borg et al., 1955, 1956; Costilow et al., 1955) prompted this study. The present report is concerned with the inhibitory action of sorbic acid in cultural media at different pH levels for certain species of bacteria, yeasts, and filamentous fungi which, for the most part, are associated with the growing cucumber or the commercial cucumber fermentation. Sorbic acid falls into a group of short-chain organic acids, which, together with their salts, have been shown to exhibit antimicrobial properties. Such properties, for many of these acids, have been demonstrated for over fifty years; for reviews see: Wyss et al. (1945), Wyss (1948), Schelhorn (1953), Ingram et al. (1956), Grubb (1957). Hoffman et al. (1939) investigated the fungistatic properties of normal saturated and unsaturated fatty acids containing from 1 to 14 carbon atoms and used as test organisms a mixed culture of common bread molds such as Aspergillus niger, A. glaucus, Rhizopus nigricans, and Penicillium frequentans. Sorbic acid was not in-