Preservative Mechanism of Sodium Benzoate

It is generally believed that the inhibitory effect of food preservatives on microorganisms is achieved by affecting cell substructures, including cell walls, cell membranes, enzymes related to metabolism, protein synthesis systems and genetic material. Since each substructure is necessary for bacterial cells, food preservatives can achieve the purpose of sterilization or bacteriostasis as long as they act on one of the substructures. The active ingredient of sodium benzoate is the undissociated benzoic acid molecule, and its effect has a great relationship with the acidity, and the PH of 2.5~4.0 has the best bacteriostatic effect. Its antibacterial mechanism is: sodium benzoate is relatively lipophilic, easily penetrates the cell membrane and enters the cell body, interferes with the permeability of the cell membrane, and inhibits the absorption of amino acids by the cell membrane; The activity of the respiratory enzyme system prevents the condensation reaction of acetyl-CoA, so that sodium benzoate acts on the substructure of the protein synthesis system, thereby achieving the purpose of bacteriostasis and the effect of food preservation.