Heat sensitization of hepatitis A virus and Tulane virus using grape seed extract, gingerol and curcumin

Human noroviruses (HNoV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) are predominantly linked to foodborne outbreaks worldwide. As cell-culture systems to propagate HNoV in laboratories are not easily available, Tulane virus (TV) is used as a cultivable HNoV surrogate to determine inactivation. Heat-sensitization of HAV and TV by “generally recognized as safe’’ (GRAS) substances can potentially reduce their time-temperature inactivation parameters during processing to ensure food safety. Curcumin, gingerol (from ginger), and grape seed extract (GSE) reportedly have anti-inflammatory, immune-modulating and antiviral properties. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the D-values and z-values of HAV and TV at 52–68 °C with or without curcumin (0.015 mg/ml), gingerol (0.1 mg/ml), or GSE (1 mg/ml) in 2-ml glass vials. HAV at ~7 log PFU/ml and TV at ~6 log PFU/ml were diluted in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and added to two sets of six 2-mL sterile glass vials. One set served as the control and the second set had the three extracts individually added for thermal treatments in a circulating water bath for 0–10 min. The D-values for TV in PBS ranged from 4.55 ± 0.28 to 1.08 ± 0.16 min, and for HAV in PBS ranged from to 9.21 ± 0.24 to 0.67 ± 0.19 min at 52–68 °C. Decreased D-values (52–58 °C) for TV with curcumin ranging from 4.32 ± 0.25 to 0.62 ± 0.17 min, gingerol from 4.09 ± 0.18 to 0.72 ± 0.09 min and GSE from 3.82 ± 0.18 to 0.80 ± 0.07 min, with similar trends for HAV were observed. The linear model showed significant differences (p