Author(s)

Tinchun Chu^1#*, Lee H. Lee^2#, Ayuni Yussof¹, Sabrina Lopez¹, Gabriela Herrera², Priscilla Luna², Mahfuza Uddin², Laying Wu³, John A. Murzaku⁴, Douglas Dickinson⁵, Stephen Hsu^5,6#

¹Department of Biological Sciences, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA.
²Department of Biology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA.
³Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Laboratory, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA.
⁴Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA.
⁵Camellix Research Laboratory, Augusta, GA, USA.
⁶Department of Oral Biology & Diagnostic Sciences, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.

Pathogenic spore-forming bacteria pose high risks to healthcare settings, as well as in the food and beverage industries. We reported recently that novel alcohol-based formulations containing plant-derived compounds, including epigallocatechin-3-gallate-palmitate (EGCG-P), a green tea polyphenol ester, provide > 99.99% inactivation of bacterial spores within 60 sec. Based on recently published data from our group and others, we hypothesize that a combination of EGCG-P and alcohol formulated with other plant-derived ingredients would achieve high sporicidal efficacy against a wide spectrum of bacterial spores and can provide novel hand hygiene methods against bacterial spores without toxicity. The objectives of the current study were to optimize two novel formulations with combinations of glycerol, citric acid, and EGCG-P to increase sporicidal activity and explore the rapid inactivation mechanisms and suitability for sporicidal products with broad-spectrum activities against aerobic and anaerobic bacterial spores. Methods included suspension testing of two formulations against spores from Bacillus cereus and Clostridium sporogenes, quantification of spore germination, and scanning electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that these novel formulations were able to reduce spore germination by >99.999% after 30 sec exposure in suspension tests, and rapidly caused physical damage to the spores. Additional studies are warranted to determine the suitability of the novel formulations for future hand hygiene use.

Alcohol, Hand Hygiene, Sporicidal, Bacterial Spores, Plant-Derived Compounds

Chu, T. , Lee, L. , Yussof, A. , Lopez, S. , Herrera, G. , Luna, P. , Uddin, M. , Wu, L. , Murzaku, J. , Dickinson, D. and Hsu, S. (2020) Enhanced Sporicidal Activity of Alcohol and Epigallocatechin-Palmitate-Based Hand Hygiene Formulations Comprised of Plant-Derived Compounds. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 8, 89-99. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2020.86009.