Affiliations 

  • 1 Bialystok University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, Wiejska 45E Str., Bialystok 15-351, Poland. Electronic address: m.matejczyk@pb.edu.pl
  • 2 Bialystok University of Technology, Department of Environmental Engineering Technology, Wiejska 45E Str., Bialystok 15-351, Poland
  • 3 Professor Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology-State Research Institute, Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Engineering, Department of Microbiology, Rakowiecka 36 Str., Warsaw 02-532, Poland
  • 4 Bialystok University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology, Wiejska 45E Str., Bialystok 15-351, Poland
  • 5 INTI International University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Persiaran Perdana BBN, Putra Nilai, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan 71800, Malaysia
  • 6 Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, Aalto University, Otakaari 24, Espoo 02150, Finland
  • 7 VELS Institute of Science, Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS), Velan Nagar P.V. Vaithiyalingam Road Pallavaram, Chennai, Tamilnadu 600 117, India
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2024 Jun 01;277:116383.
PMID: 38663192 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116383

Abstract

Vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid) (VA) is a natural benzoic acid derivative commonly found in herbs, rice, maize, and some fruits and vegetables. However, due to the wide use of VA in various industrial sectors, its presence in the environment might harm living organisms. This study evaluated the toxicity of VA and its isomers, iso-VA and orto-VA. Firstly, the antimicrobial effect of VA and its isomers iso-VA and orto-VA (in doses of 1000; 100, 10, 1; 0.1; 0.01 mg/L) against Escherichia coli, Sarcina spp., Enterobacter homaechei, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans were identified. The toxic effect and protein degradation potential of VA and its isomers were determined using E. coli grpE:luxCDABE and lac:luxCDABE biosensor strains. However, the genotoxicity and oxidative stress generation were assessed with the E. coli recA:luxCDABE biosensor and E. coli strain. The results showed that VA, iso-VA, and orto-VA exhibited antimicrobial activity against all tested bacterial strains. However, VA's antimicrobial effect differed from iso-VA and orto-VA. Similar toxic, genotoxic, and oxidative stress-inducing effects were observed for VA and its isomers. Each compound exhibited toxicity, cellular protein degradation, and genotoxic activity against E. coli grpE:luxCDABE, E. coli lac:luxCDABE, and E. coli recA:luxCDABE strains. Analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation within E. coli cells highlighted oxidative stress as a contributing factor to the toxicity and genotoxicity of VA and its isomers. While the findings suggest potential applications of VA compounds as food preservatives, their presence in the environment raises concerns regarding the risks posed to living organisms due to their toxic and genotoxic characteristics.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.