mechanistic insight into antimicrobial properties of quercetin against common bacterial foodborne pathogens: a review

Quercetin, a naturally occurring flavonoid compound mainly found in vegetables, fruits, and medicinal plants has garnered remarkable attention for its wide array biofunctions, including its well-known antimicrobial activities. this study critically explores previous literature that have been investigated the underling protective mechanisms of quercetin against various infections caused by foodborne bacterial pathogens including salmonellosis, listeriosis, campylobacteriosis, vibriosis, and e. coli and s. aureus infections. these foodborne illnesses pose salient global health concerns given the increasing development of resistance to traditional antibiotics. a comprehensive literature search up to august 2025 was conducted using different scientific databases such as pubmed, web of science, scopus and also google scholar web search engine, which investigated the protective mechanisms of quercetin against common bacterial foodborne pathogens. quercetin, foodborne, pathogen, and antimicrobial were the main key words which used in search the literature. according to findings from current literature, the antibacterial properties of quercetin attributed to various mechanisms including disruption of bacterial cell-wall integrity, disruption of nucleic acid synthesis, and downregulation of virulence-related genes. investigations have been demonstrated that quercetin endangers membrane permeability, leading to leakage of vital cytosolic contents and eventual bacterial cell death. furthermore, it inhibits dna gyrase, topoisomerase iv and other enzymes crucial for bacterial replication, thereby hindering bacterial proliferation. also, quercetin’s ability to regulate quorum sensing pathways influences biofilm formation and diminishes their pathogenic potency. in addition to direct actions, quercetin exhibits synergistic effects in combination therapy with traditional antibiotics, improves their efficacy, overcomes antibiotic resistance in certain strains. the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of quercetin also contribute to its therapeutic capacity by modulating affected patient immune responses during bacterial food poisoning. this review highlights quercetin role as a promising natural-based and harmless candidate for food preservation and as an adjuvant to antimicrobial therapy. despite satisfactory findings of in vitro and in vivo studies, challenges such as poor water- solubility, limited absorption, rapid biodisposition and variability in effectiveness across bacterial pathogens remain. further and advanced investigation, particularly formulation studies and clinical trials, is necessary to fully clarify quercetin’s application in food safety and bacterial foodborne illness management.