A dual antibacterial mechanism involved in membrane disruption and DNA binding of 2R,3R-dihydromyricetin from pine needles of Cedrus deodara against Staphylococcus aureus

•The antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of 2R,3R-dihydromyricetin against S. aureus were investigated.•2R,3R-Dihydromyricetin showed the potent antibacterial activity against S. aureus.•2R,3R-Dihydromyricetin could cause damages to S. aureus cell membrane that led to a loss of cell viability.•2R,3R-Dihydromyricetin could bind to S. aureus genomic DNA to inhibit vital cellular functions.•2R,3R-Dihydromyricetin could be used as a potential alternative food preservative in food industry. The antibacterial activity and mechanism of 2R,3R-dihydromyricetin (DMY) against Staphylococcus aureus were investigated. The minimum inhibitory concentration of DMY against S. aureus was 0.125mg/ml, and the growth inhibitory assay also revealed that DMY showed a potent antibacterial activity against S. aureus. Massive nucleotide leakage and flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that DMY disrupted the membrane integrity of S. aureus. Morphological changes and membrane hyperpolarization of S. aureus cells treated with DMY further suggested that DMY destroyed cell membrane. Meanwhile, DMY probably interacted with membrane lipids and proteins, causing a significant reduction in membrane fluidity and changes in conformation of membrane protein. Moreover, DMY could interact with S. aureus DNA through the groove binding mode. Overall, the results suggested that DMY could be applied as a candidate for the development of new food preservatives as it achieved bactericidal activity by damaging cell membrane and binding to intracellular DNA.