Abstract:To determine the antibacterial mechanism of ginger mix-fried magnolia bark (GMB) against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, the morphological structure of the bacterial cells, enzyme activity in the ion channels of cell membrane, and energy mechanism after treatment with GMB were studied. The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of GMB against E. coli and S. aureus were 6.25 and 12.5 mg/mL, respectively. The absorbance values for extracellular alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and β-galactosidase in E. coli increased 1.78-fold and 4.24-fold, respectively. Four hours after GMB treatment, the conductivity of the culture medium changed significantly, and membrane Na+K+-ATPase activity increased from 0.42 to 1.74 mg prot/mL, which was 1.7 times higher than that of the negative control. There were vesicular or irregular projections on the cell surface of S. aureus, and the sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) activity, total adenosine triphosphate (ATP) activity, and soluble protein content decreased by 40%, 23.4%, and 17.9%, respectively, whereas AKP enzymatic activity and conductivity increased. These results suggested that GMB increased E. coli cell permeability by disrupting the cell wall and damaging membrane structure, which resulted in an outflow of intracellular material and a decreased amount of synthesized proteins, thereby inhibiting bacterial growth. GMB appeared to inhibit S. aureus by enhancing the cell wall permeability, reducing the activity of enzymes related to energy metabolism, and interfering with the normal metabolic activities.
