Antibacterial Activity of Long-Chain Fatty Alcohols against Staphylococcus aureus

• Main Authors: Yoshihiro Inoue, Hajime Hamashima, Kazutoyo Endo, Keisuke Matsuoka, Miki Nishizaka, Akiko Shiraishi, Naoko Togashi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2007-02-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: Staphylococcus aureus; fatty alcohols; antibacterial activity; length of carbon chain; K+ ion leakage.
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/12/2/139/
• ISSN: 1420-3049

The antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus of long-chain fatty alcohols was investigated, with a focus on normal alcohols. The antibacterial activity varied with the length of the aliphatic carbon chain and not with the water/octanol partition coefficient. 1-Nonanol, 1-decanol and 1-undecanol had bactericidal activity and membrane-damaging activity. 1-Dodecanol and 1-tridecanol had the highest antibacterial activity among the long-chain fatty alcohols tested, but had no membrane-damaging activity. Consequently, it appears that not only the antibacterial activity but also the mode of action of long-chain fatty alcohols might be determined by the length of the aliphatic carbon chain.