The Bacteriostatic Action of Benzoic and Salicylic Acids. II. The Effect on Acetate Metabolism.

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Abstract
The effect of benzoic and salicylic acids on the acetate metabolism of resting cells of Proteus vulgaris was investigated by the Warburg technique. The oxidation of acetate by washed cells previously grown in a medium containing glucose and amino acids was inhibited by both acids. Small amounts of succinate added simultaneously with the acetate in these respiration studies decreased the inhibition caused by benzoic acid considerably. In similar experiments with cells previously grown in a medium with acetate as the sole carbon source, the effect of benzoic acid on the rate of acetate oxidation was much less, while that of salicylic acid was as before. Both inhibitors had a tendency to increase the total amount of CO2 evolved per mole of substrate added in experiments with washed cells previously grown in the acetate medium. Such an increase in CO2 output from acetate induced by benzoic acid was further investigated in experiments with labelled acetate and shown to be derived mainly from the methyl group of the acetate molecule. Neither of the acids had any appreciable effect on pyruvate dismutation with cell-free extracts of Escherichia coli.