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Protein extract of Bromelia karatas L. rich in cysteine proteases (ananain- and bromelain-like) has antibacterial activity against foodborne pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium

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Abstract

Bromelia karatas L. is a plant species from the Americas. The presence of proteases in fruits of B. karatas has been reported but scarcely studied in detail. Proteolytic enzymes from Ananas comosus have displayed antifungal and antibacterial activity. Thus, novel proteases present in B. karatas may be useful as a source of compounds against microorganisms in medicine and food production. In this work, the protein extract from the fruits of B. karatas was characterized and its antibacterial activity against Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes was determined for the first time. Proteins highly similar to ananain and the fruit bromelain from A. comosus were identified as the main proteases in B. karatas fruits using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The soluble protein extract (SPE) at a concentration of 2.0 mg/mL displayed up to 80% of antibacterial activity against S. Typhimurium. Complete inhibition of L. monocytogenes was reached with up to 1.65 mg/mL of SPE. Plant protease extract containing ananain-like enzyme inhibited up to 90% against S. Typhimurium and up to 85% against L. monocytogenes using only 10 μg/mL of the partial-purified enzyme.

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Data availability

The datasets generated for this manuscript are available at the following link: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3986948. Please contact the corresponding author for other data requests.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank Dr. Elizabeth Ortiz Vazquez and Jesus Ramon-Sierra to donate bacterial strains. Also, they acknowledge the biologists Javier Tun-Pech and Juan Pablo Pinzón-Esquivel PhD for valuable help to identify Bromelia karatas fruits and plants.

Funding

This research was supported by SEP-Programa para el desarrollo profesional docente para el tipo superior (Grant ITMER-PTC-017). Funding body was employed in the design of the study and collection, experimental procedures, and writing of manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. División de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Tecnológico Nacional de México/I.T. Mérida, Av. Tecnológico Km. 4.5 S/N, 97118, Mérida, Yucatán, México

    Elva Ávalos-Flores & Denis Magaña-Ortiz

  2. Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Bioquímica, Tecnólogico Nacional de México/I.T. Morelia, Col. Lomas de Santiaguito, Av. Tecnólogico #1500, 58120, Morelia, Michoacán, México

    Elva Ávalos-Flores

  3. Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Av. Eugenio Garza Sada 2501, 64849, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

    Laura Margarita López-Castillo

  4. Mass Spectrometry Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Str. 8, 07745, Jena, Germany

    Natalie Wielsch, Yvonne Hupfer & Robert Winkler

  5. Dep. of Biotechnology and Biochemistry, CINVESTAV Unidad Irapuato, Irapuato Gto., Mexico. Km 9.6 Libramiento Norte, Carretera Irapuato-León, 36824, Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico

    Robert Winkler

Authors
  1. Elva Ávalos-Flores
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  2. Laura Margarita López-Castillo
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  3. Natalie Wielsch
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  4. Yvonne Hupfer
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  6. Denis Magaña-Ortiz
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Contributions

Denis Magaña-Ortiz and Laura Margarita López-Castillo designed the study, Elva Ávalos-Flores and Laura Margarita López-Castillo performed protein extraction and antibacterial tests, Natalie Wielsch, Yvonne Hupfer, and Robert Winkler performed protein analysis and identification, and Denis Magaña-Ortiz and Laura Margarita López-Castillo drafted the manuscript. All authors read, revised, and approved the final manuscript. Authors also declare that nobody who qualifies for authorship has been excluded from the list of authors.

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Correspondence to Denis Magaña-Ortiz.

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Ávalos-Flores, E., López-Castillo, L.M., Wielsch, N. et al. Protein extract of Bromelia karatas L. rich in cysteine proteases (ananain- and bromelain-like) has antibacterial activity against foodborne pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium. Folia Microbiol 67, 1–13 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-021-00906-9

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