en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Background: </span></b><i><span style="line-height:115%">Staphylococcus aureus</span></i><span style="line-height:115%"> is a major food-borne pathogen worldwide and a frequent contaminant of fruit juices. This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of bacteriocin-containing Cell-Free Culture Supernatants (CFCS) of <i>Pediococcus pentosaceus</i> IO₁ against <i>S. aureus</i> inoculated in fruit juices, as well as their impact on the juice sensory attributes.</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Methods:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> The orange and watermelon juice samples were treated with bacteriocin supernatant at different concentrations (1, 5, and 10% v/v) and the sensory attributes were evaluated using a 5-point hedonic scale and thereafter inoculated with a culture of <i>S. aureus</i>. Then, the inhibitory effect of bacteriocin-containing CFCS of <i>P. pentosaceus</i> IO₁ against <i>S. aureus</i> in the fruit juices was evaluated by <i>in situ</i> and plate assays.</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Results:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> The 10% (v/v) bacteriocin-containing CFCS exhibited the highest antibacterial activity, reducing <i>S. aureus</i> counts in pasteurized orange and watermelon juices by 1.42 and 2.12 log Colony Forming Units (CFU)/ml, respectively, and by 1.03 and 0.88 log CFU/ml in unpasteurized orange and watermelon juices, respectively, compared to the control. The taste, colour, and overall acceptability of pasteurized orange and watermelon juices treated with 1% (v/v) bacteriocin supernatant and 0.1% (w/v) sodium benzoate were not significantly different (<i>p</i>=0.228) from those pasteurized orange and watermelon juices without preservative.</span></span><br> <span style="line-height:115%"><b><span style="line-height:115%">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="line-height:115%"> The bacteriocin produced by <i>P. pentosaceus</i> IO₁ could be used as a natural preservative in fruit juices to control <i>S. aureus</i>.</span><br> <br> <b><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="color:black">DOI:</span></span></b> <span style="line-height:115%">10.18502/jfqhc.9.3.11151</span></span></span></span></div> Pediococcus pentosaceus, Bacteriocins, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Staphylococcus aureus, Fruit and Vegetable Juices, Foodborne Diseases 130 136 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1367-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 I.A. Adesina iadesina@unimed.edu.ng 0000-0002-6916-1502 Yes Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Nigeria Y.D. Oluwafemi No Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo City, Nigeria