Nisin, food preservative

Potential therapeutic applications of host defense peptides also include the lantibiotic nisin. Indeed, nisin has had an impressive history as a food preservative with FDA approval in 1988 for use in pasteurized, processed cheese spreads. The attractiveness of nisin as a potential therapeutic is also enhanced due to its relative resistance to proteases and broad spectrum Gram-positive antimicrobial activity including multidrug-resistant strains. Biosynexus Inc. has licensed the use of nisin for human clinical applications and Immucell Corp. has licensed the use of Mast Out, an antimastitic nisin-containing product, to Pfizer Animal Health." Indeed, nisin formulations have been used as an active agent in the topical therapies Mast Out and Wipe-Out for bovine mastitis, an inflammatory disorder of the udder that is the most persistent disease in dairy cows." ... 

Modern methods of livestock production are intensive and the environmental conditions stress the animals. The use of antibiotics promotes growth and protects the animals from otherwise certain infection under these conditions. Antibiotic-like compounds formed in lactic acid fermentations prevent proliferation of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and increase the shelf life of the products. Nisin is a antimicrobial produced by a lactic acid bacterium and is used in some countries as a food preservative. Some lactic acid bacteria are capable of favorably influencing the fecal flora in man and animals. 

The use of nisin as a food preservative has been approved in many countries. It has been used effectively in preservation of processed cheese. It is also used in the heat treatment of nonacid foods and in extending the shelf life of sterilized milk. 

Organic acids (lactic, acetic) Bacteriocins co2 Hydrogen peroxide Diacetyl Reuterin Ethanol Increase acidity, antimicrobial compounds Nisin only bacteriocin permitted as food preservative, disrupts cytoplasmic membrane Reduces membrane permeability Oxidizes proteins Interacts with arginine-binding proteins Not confirmed, may interact with thiol group in proteins that may lead to oxidative stress (Whitehead et al., 2008)... 

Consumer resistance to the use of synthetic additives in foods has stimulated interest in natural additives and preservatives. The principal natural additive used in cheese is the bacteriocin, nisin. Bacteriocins are peptides which inhibit a limited range of bacteria, usually closely related to the producer organism. The potential of nisin, produced by Lactococcus lactis, as a food preservative was first demonstrated using nisin-producing cultures in the manufacturer of Swiss-type cheese to prevent spoilage by Clostridia (Hirsch et ai, 1951). To date, nisin is the only purified bacteriocin commercially exploited as a food preservative. It can be added to processed cheese products to prevent late blowing by Clostridia, the spores of which, if present in the natural cheese, survive pasteurization (Barnby-Smith, 1992). 

Nisin Lc. lactis Food preservative in Nisaplin (Danisco) salami production [53, 60, 61]... 

Nisin is now approved for use as a food preservative in about 50 countries (10). The variety of the types of foods and beverages in which nisin has been successfully used continues to grow impressively. Most abundant are applications in dairy products (13,14), where nisin can inhibit the outgrowth of spores as well as being bacteriocidal agaiitst vegetative cells (15-17), increasing the shelflife of cheeses (18) and ice cream (19). 

Hansen JN. Nisin as a model food preservative. Clydesdale FM. ed. CRC Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. Boca Raton, Florida CRC Press, 1994 69—93. 

DelveS Broughton J. Nisin and its uses as a food preservative. Food Technol 990 ... 

Medical applications of nisin, a food preservation additive... 

Due to the anti-bacterial property of nisin, it was used as safe food preservation in over 50 countries around the world, particularly in dairy products, canned foods, plant protein foods, and cured meat. Investigators from multiple fields have shown promising results for the use of nisin to treat bacterial infections, such as mastitis in humans and cows (Cao et al., 2007 Fernandez et al., 2008 Wu et al., 2007), Staphylococcus aureus infections in atopic dermatitis (Valenta et al., 1996), respiratory tract infections (Bush and Macielag, 2000 De Kwaadsteniet et al., 2009), and experimental gingivitis in dogs (Howell et al., 1993). Since nisin is safe for human consumption as a food preservative, its translation into a clinical setting may be facUltated. 

Joo, N.E., Ritchie, K., Kamarajan, P., Miao, D., Kapila, Y.L., 2012. Nisin, an apoptogenic bacteriocin and food preservative, attenuates HNSCC mmorigenesis via CHACl. Cancer Medicine 1, 295—305. 

Food preservatives are yet another product of industrial fermentation. Organic acids, particularly lactic and citric acids, are extensively used as food preservatives. Some of these preservatives (such as citric acid) are used as flavoring agents. A mixture of two bacterial species (Lactobacillus and Streptococcus) is usually used for industrial production of lactic acid. The mold Asper Uus niger is used for citric acid manufacturing. Another common preservative is the protein nisin. Nisin is produced via fermentation by the bacterium Lactococcus lactis. It is employed in the dairy industry especially for production of processed cheese. 

Mazzotta, A. S., Modi, K. and Montville, T. J., 2000. Nisin-resistant Listeria monocytogenes and Nisin-resistant Clostridium botulinum are not resistant to common food preservatives. J Food Science 65, 888-893. 

Nisin is authorised for food preservation in the EU. For nisin, an ADI equal to 0.13 mg/kg of body weight, and for natamycin an ADI equal to 0.3 mg/kg of body weight have been set. In 2003, the European Parliament announced that nisin should not be used because of possible worsening effect of antibiotics on humans, but the Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Foods (AFC Panel) approved the use of nisin as a food additive in 2006. This substance is also permitted in the United States. 

But many countries favor the use of antibiotics, as food preservatives. The FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives favors the use of nisin eis a direct additive to foods. 

A naturally-occurring antibiotic, sometimes found in milk. Many countries use nisin as a food preservative. However, the direct addition of antibiotic to food is not permitted in the United States. 

Thomas, L.V. and Delves-Broughton, J. (2001) New advances in the application of the food preservative nisin. ResAdv... 

Some of the metabolites isolated from Streptomyces strains, such as ostreogrycin 112), griseoviridin 6, 7, 8, 88, 119, 120, 256), telomycin 363) and thiostreptone 61) are active against Gram positive bacteria. Nisin, which is used as a food preservative, and subtilin possess a broad antibiotic spectrum 155, 156, 160, 161, 200, 201, 277). Especially... 

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