Membrane Depolarization Sensitizes Pseudomonas aeruginosa Against Tannic Acid

The use of dietary polyphenols as antimicrobial agents has gained immense popularity in recent years, although few of them-like tannic acid has limited use in this field of research; one of the main reasons is its restricted access through the bacterial membrane. Dissipating the bacterial membrane potential with a sub-lethal dosage of the protonophore, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone, enhanced the tannic acid-cytotoxicity with subsequent inhibition of aerobic respiration in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains which otherwise exhibited a minimum response to tannic acid. However, ascorbic acid, an antioxidant and bacterial membrane-stabilizing compound, had rescued the cells from both tannic acid- and CCCP-mediated lethality. The results suggested that dispersing the membrane potential with a protonophore can enhance the antibacterial properties of tannic acid.