Study on antibacterial activities of tea polyphenols and tea saponin and their blends

To evaluate the antibacterial activities of tea saponin and tea polyphenols and their blends on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus of common pollutant and pathogenic bacteria in foods, the Oxford Cup method were used to study their antibacterial activities. The results showed that tea polyphenols and tea saponin and their blends could significantly inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (p<0.05) , the antibacterial effect gradually increased along with the increasing concentration of tea saponin and tea polyphenols, and the inhibition was enhanced with their increasing concentration. Tea saponin and tea polyphenols demonstrated a synergistic inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and synergistic inhibitory effect was enhanced with their increasing concentration. Tea saponin mixed with different concentration of tea polyphenols had better antibacterial effect than the same concentration of tea saponin. The inhibition effect of tea saponin and tea polyphenols and their blends on Escherichia coli was stronger than Staphylococcus aureus. Studies showed that tea saponin and tea polyphenols and their blends had significant antibacterial activities, and the antibacterial effect gradually increased along with their increasing concentration.