Research data（FA）

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a severe foodborne pathogen, and the formation of its biofilm can enhance bacterial virulence and reduce antibiotic sensitivity, posing a significant threat to human and animal health. Ferulic Acid (FA) is a natural active product that has been proven to possess various biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor properties. This study evaluated the inhibitory effect of FA on the biofilm formation of E. coli through crystal violet (CV) staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and investigated the synergistic effect of FA with antibiotics using the alamar blue (AB) assay. In addition, the regulatory effect of FA on the transcription of biofilm-related genes was analyzed using qRT-PCR technology. The results showed that FA could significantly inhibit biofilm formation, reduce the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and weaken bacterial motility, without affecting bacterial growth and metabolic activity. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that FA significantly downregulated the expression of curli-related gene csgD, flagella-related genes (flhC, flhD, and motA), and type I fimbriae gene fimA, while upregulating the transcription of c-di-GMP -related genes (pdeR, pdeA, and dosP). It is noteworthy that FA exhibits significant synergistic antibacterial effects when combined with clinically commonly used antibiotics, including sodium fosfomycin, ceftriaxone, gentamicin, and tetracycline, with the most prominent synergistic effect observed in the combination of FA and sodium fosfomycin. These results confirm that FA possesses notable anti-biofilm activity and novel synergistic antibacterial properties, providing a potential therapeutic strategy for treating E. coli infections.大肠埃希菌（Escherichia coli, E. coli）是一类严重的食源性致病菌，其生物被膜的形成可增强细菌毒力并降低对抗生素的敏感性，对人和动物健康构成显著威胁。阿魏酸（Ferulic Acid, FA）是一种天然活性产物，已被证实具备抗炎、抗氧化、抗肿瘤等多种生物学活性。本研究通过结晶紫（Crystal Violet, CV）染色法与扫描电子显微镜（Scanning Electron Microscopy, SEM），评估了FA对大肠埃希菌生物被膜形成的抑制作用，并采用阿尔玛蓝（Alamar Blue, AB）分析法探究了FA与抗生素的协同抗菌效应。此外，本研究借助实时定量聚合酶链反应（quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, qRT-PCR）技术，分析了FA对生物被膜相关基因转录的调控作用。研究结果显示，FA可显著抑制大肠埃希菌生物被膜的形成，减少胞外聚合物（Extracellular Polymeric Substances, EPS）的产生，并削弱细菌运动能力，且不会影响细菌的生长与代谢活性。qRT-PCR分析结果表明，FA可显著下调卷曲菌毛相关基因csgD、鞭毛相关基因（flhC、flhD与motA）以及I型菌毛基因fimA的表达水平，同时上调环二鸟苷酸（cyclic diguanylate, c-di-GMP）相关基因（pdeR、pdeA与dosP）的转录活性。值得注意的是，FA与临床常用抗生素（包括磷霉素钠、头孢曲松、庆大霉素及四环素）联用时，可展现出显著的协同抗菌效果，其中FA与磷霉素钠的联用协同效应最为突出。上述研究结果证实，FA具备显著的抗生物被膜活性与新型协同抗菌特性，为大肠埃希菌感染的临床治疗提供了潜在的策略选择。