Carvacrol, a natural compound found in essential oils, has demonstrated antimicrobial properties against various microorganisms.The objective of this study was to investigate the bacteriostatic effects of carvacrol on Bacillus cereus and its application in the post-fermentation process of white sufu.The minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations of carvacrol against two Bacillus cereus species were determined to be 0.312 5 mg/mL and 0.625 0 mg/mL, respectively, and the inhibition rates at 24 h were 94.06% and 94.07%, respectively.The study also investigated the effects of carvacrol on colony formation, spore germination, cellular nucleic acid, protein leakage, enzyme activity, and cell morphology. Carvacrol was also added to the white sufu during the post-fermentation stage to evaluate its effectiveness.The results showed that carvacrol, at the minimum inhibitory concentration, significantly reduced the spore germination rate and led to changes in the morphology of Bacillus cereus cells and disruption of cell membranes, causing leakage of nucleic acids, proteins and enzymes.Additionally, the total number of colonies, the number of Bacillus cereus, and the number of spores of white sufu in the carvacrol-treated group were reduced by 84.62%, 47.37%, and 93.15%, respectively.Therefore, carvacrol exhibits strong potential as an effective bacteriostatic agent for controlling Bacillus cereus in white sufu.
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