J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol., 52, 29–35 (2006)

Some fatty acids (FAs) can inhibit or stimulate the growth of bacteria. In general, polyunsaturated FAs such as linoleic and linolenic acids have more inhibitory effects on bacteria than saturated and monounsaturated FAs (Nieman, 1954; Raychowdhury et al., 1985). Gram-positive bacteria, especially, are more sensitive to polyunsaturated FAs than Gram-negative bacteria (Greenway and Dyke, 1979). We found that eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids seriously damaged rumen bacteria such as Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens (Fujimoto et al., 1993). In addition, Butcher et al. (1976) reported that Staphylococcus aureus was more susceptible to cis FAs. The stereochemistry of the double bonds in FAs may play an important role in the growth of microorganisms. On the other hand, some microorganisms demand Trans fatty acids promote the growth of some Lactobacillus strains