Quorum sensing in food spoilage and natural-based strategies for its inhibition

Food can harbor a variety of microorganisms including spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. Many bacterial processes, including production of degrading enzymes, virulence factors, and biofilm formation are known to depend on cell density through a process called quorum sensing (QS), in which cells communicate by synthesizing, detecting and reacting to small diffusible signaling molecules - autoinducers (AI). The disruption of QS could decisively contribute to control the expression of many harmful bacterial phenotypes. Several quorum sensing inhibitors (QSI) have been extensively studied, being many of them of natural origin. This review provides an analysis on the role of QS in food spoilage and biofilm formation within the food industry. QSI from natural sources are also reviewed towards their putative future applications to prolong shelf life of food products and decrease foodborne pathogenicity.