Figure 1.

PEG-8 Laurate as a carbon source for fermentation of S. epidermidis, but not C. acnes. (a,b) S. epidermidis (S. epi) or (c,d) C. acnes (10⁵ CFU/mL) was incubated with and without 2% PEG-8 Laurate in rich media (M) for 12 h. Rich media plus PEG-8 Laurate alone or bacteria alone served as controls. Bacterial fermentation was indicated by the color change of phenol red to yellow (arrow) and quantified by measurement of OD₅₆₀ (b,d). Results were illustrated as the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of three independent experiments. *** p < 0.001 (two-tailed t-tests); ns = non-significant.