Growth Inhibition of Heterofermentative Lactic Acid Bacteria by Wild Grass Extracts

Abstract

　In this study, we examined the growth inhibition of two heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillius brevis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides, by the aqueous extracts of 93 species of wild grasses. The aqueous extracts of the 15 species inhibited the growth of the lactic acid bacteria at a concentration of 1% (w/v). The aqueous extracts of evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), shirobanasakuratade (Polygonum japonicum), and agrimony (Agrimonia japonica) had particularly low minimum inhibitory concentrations, being lower than that of green tea.