Descrizione

Sodium benzoate E211

Sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of benzoic acid. At room temperature it looks like a solid white odourless. Together with Parahydroxybenzoate it is part of the category of the antimicrobial preservatives based on benzoic acid. Thanks to its bacteriostatic and Fungistatic properties.

A bacteriostatic agent such as sodium benzoate is an antimicrobial agent, such as some metals, capable of inhibiting or limiting bacterial replication.

Inhibition of bacterial cell replication can occur by interference with the production of proteinebacterial cells, by replicating their DNA or by disturbing other aspects of bacterial metabolism, depending on the antimicrobial used.

This term is used as opposed to the term bactericide, which refers to those antimicrobiics that instead cause the death of microbes, they have irreversible action on bacteria in active multiplication.

However, there is no clear distinction between the two categories because, for example, high concentrations of certain bacteriostatic agents are bacterial, while low concentrations of certain bactericidal agents are only Bacteriostatic. Some antimicrobiics are then bacteriostatic for some microbial species, and bactericides for others.

A further complication is given by the acquisition of resistance to an antimicrobial by bacteria, which erase the bactericidal action.

Some modifications to the bacterial metabolism made by the acquisition of resistance to an antimicrobial, however, restrict or slow the growth of the bacterium itself, thus indirectly making the antimicrobial a bacteriostatic bland.