Application of yeast Candida utilis to ferment Eisenia bicyclis for enhanced antibacterial effect.

In this study, fermentation broth of Eisenia bicyclis with Candia utilis YM-1 exhibited enhanced antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and food-borne pathogenic bacteria. To perform a more detailed investigation on the antibacterial activity, the fermented broth of E. bicyclis was extracted with methanol and further fractionated with organic solvents. After 1-day fermentation, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc)-soluble extract exhibited the highest anti-MRSA activity with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 128 to 512 μg/mL, suggesting that the fermentation of E. bicyclis with C. utilis YM-1 may enhance antibacterial activity against MRSA. This effect was correlated to the result obtained by an increase in total phenolic contents in EtOAc-soluble extract. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that eckol, dieckol, dioxinodehydroeckol, and phlorofucofuroeckol-A contents in the EtOAc-soluble extract increased significantly. Thus, these results show that anti-MRSA activity of E. bicyclis fermented with C. utilis most likely originated from phlorotannins and allow the possible application of a variety of seaweed functional foods.