Effect of corilagin on membrane permeability of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans.

Corilagin is a member of polyphenolic tannins. Its antimicrobial activity and action mechanism against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans were investigated through membrane permeability. Crystal violet staining determination, outer membrane (OM) and inner membrane (IM) permeability, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used as methods for our investigation. The minimum inhibitory concentrations were 62.5, 31.25 and 62.5 µg/mL for E. coli, S. aureus and C. albicans, respectively. Crystal violet results and SDS-PAGE of supernatant proteins showed that corilagin dose-dependently affected membrane permeability of E. coli and C. albicans but not of S. aureus. OM and IM permeability assays revealed comparable results for E. coli. By using AFM, we demonstrated extensive cell surface alterations of corilagin-treated E. coli and C. albicans. SDS-PAGE of precipitated proteins revealed possible targets of corilagin, i.e. Fib, Sae R, Sar S in S. aureus and Tye 7p in C. albicans. In conclusion, corilagin inhibited the growth of E. coli and C. albicans by disrupting their membrane permeability and that of S. aureus by acting on Fib, Sae R and Sar S but not on membrane integrity.