a b s t r a c t
Lactobacillus reuteri INIA P579 was used for the production and purification of reuterin. The purity of
reuterin was assessed by high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HRESIMS) and
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. After purification, reuterin concentration obtained was
1.3 M. The inhibitory activity using Escherichia coli K12 as indicator strain was estimated to be 510 AU/ml.
Survival curves in tryptic soy broth revealed that reuterin required to inhibit the growth of three Listeria
monocytogenes strains was in the range of 2e4 AU/ml. Purified reuterin (10 AU/g) significantly reduced
the growth of L. monocytogenes in cold-smoked salmon kept under moderate or strong temperature
abuse conditions. After 15 d at 8?C, cold-smoked salmon with added reuterin exhibited L. monocytogenes
counts 2.0 log CFU/g lower than control smoked salmon with no reuterin added. At 30?C, reuterin also
controlled the growth of the pathogen, with counts 1.4 and 0.9 log CFU/g lower than those observed in
control smoked salmon after 24 and 48 h, respectively. The addition of purified reuterin might be used as
a hurdle technology to improve the safety and extend the shelf-life of lightly preserved seafood products
such as cold-smoked salmon.