Metabolomics study on revealing the inhibition and metabolic dysregulation in Pseudomonas fluorescens induced by 3-carene

•The mechanism of 3-carene against P. fluorescens was uncovered by metabolomics.•3-Carene showed adverse effects on cell morphological and plasmolysis.•42 metabolites were differentially expressed with 3-carene treatment.•3-Carene induced energy metabolism disorder and multiple metabolic processes. 3-Carene is a monoterpenoid that has an effective inhibitory ability against Pseudomonas fluorescens (P. fluorescens) which can induce a range of food contamination problems. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS)-based metabolomics was used to elucidate the antimicrobial mechanism of 3-carene in P. fluorescens. Multivariate analysis of the metabolite data revealed significant differences in the potential metabolite profiles between groups. The results of univariate analysis showed that significant changes in 42 metabolites were observed after treatment with 3-carene for 12 h when compared to the control group. Moreover, 3-carene treatment resulted in disturbances in many metabolic processes, including amino acid metabolism, pantothenate and coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. These results provide a new insight into the antimicrobial mechanisms of 3-carene in P. fluorescens and enhance our understanding of the antimicrobial mechanism from a metabolic perspective.