Bacterial spores in spices and dried herbs: The risks for processed food

Production and world consumption of spices are constantly increasing. Although the antimicrobial properties of some spices are well documented, their use in the agri-food industry is also responsible for microbial contamination and spoilage. Bacterial spores introduced by spices can withstand different preparation processes, particularly thermal treatments, leading to food alterations during storage. This review brings together data from the literature about the prevalence and concentrations of spore-forming bacteria in all commercially available spices. The sporeformers found in spices belong mainly to the genera Bacillus and Clostridium. Such contaminations are very common and sometimes reach high levels, as in pepper and turmeric. Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus cereus are the most frequently detected species. Studying the harvesting, processing, and storage procedures for spices provides elements to explain why high prevalence and concentrations are observed. Spices are mostly produced in developing countries on small farms using traditional production methods. Spices become contaminated by bacterial spores in two main ways: by contact with soil during harvesting or drying, as for pepper, or by cross-contamination during the water-cooking step, as for turmeric. From these observations, we propose some recommendations. Different methods that can be used to eliminate bacterial spores from spices are presented indicating their efficiency and the limitations of their use.     

Microbiological safety of kinema, a fermented soya bean food

Kinema is a fermented soya bean food of Nepal and the hilly regions of North-eastern States of India. Generally, the fermentation is dominated by Bacillus spp. that often cause alkalinity and desirable stickiness in the product. The present study was undertaken in a limited number of commercial (market) kinema samples to test for the presence of foodborne pathogens and their properties. Bacillus cereus was present in numbers exceeding 10⁴ cfu/g product in five of the tested 15 market samples. Enterobacteriaceae and coliform bacteria exceeded 10⁵ cfu/g in 10 of the 15 samples. Escherichia coli exceeding 10⁵ cfu/g was found in two samples. Staphylococcus aureus was not detected in any of the tested samples. Of 31 isolated typical and atypical strains of B. cereus, 18 representative strains were tested qualitatively for the ability to produce diarrhoeal type enterotoxin (BCET) using an Oxoid BCET-RPLA test kit. Overall, BCET was formed by 12 strains in BHIG (brain heart infusion broth +1% glucose), by seven strains on sterilized cooked rice, and by five strains on sterilized cooked soya beans. Semi-quantitative tests on BCET revealed that levels exceeding 256 ng/g soya beans, produced by single pure culture inoculation with the isolated B. cereus strains, were reduced to ≤ 8 ng/g by frying kinema in oil, a common procedure when making kinema curry. It was also shown in a mixed pure culture experiment that a kinema strain B. Subtilis DK-W1, is able to suppress growth and BCET formation by a selected toxin producing strain (BC7-5) of B. cereus. It is concluded that the traditional way of making kinema and its culinary use in curries is safe. However, for novel applications of kinema, safety precautions are advisable.     

The Effect of Ozone Gas-Liquid Contacting Conditions in a Static Mixer on Microorganism Reduction

The effect of gas-liquid contacting conditions in a static mixer on ozone transfer efficiency and reduction of Bacillus subtilis spores was studied in an experimental ozone contactor. An empirical mathematical model was developed that related the transfer efficiency in the experimental system to the superficial liquid velocity in the mixer, the gas-liquid flow rate ratio and the height of the down-stream bubble column. Spore reduction was determined primarily by the dissolved ozone concentration-time (C_avgt_m) product in the reactive flow segment and was independent of the gas-liquid contacting conditions in the static mixer. In an integrated ozone contacting system, the static mixer should be designed to maximize ozone mass transfer while the reactive flow segment should be designed for efficient microorganism reduction.     

枯草杆菌碱性磷酸酶制备的最佳工艺条件及酶促反应动力学性质的研究

以枯草杆菌为菌种液体培养制备碱性磷酸酶，研究确定了培养的最佳工艺条件，并对碱性磷酸酶的酶促反应动力学性质进行了初步探讨。结果表明，枯草杆菌制备碱性磷酸酶的最佳工艺条件为：40℃，pH值7．4振荡培养10h，酶活最高。对碱性磷酸酶的动力学性质研究表明，该酶催化底物磷酸苯二钠水解反应的最适pH值8．8，最适温度52℃，米氏常数Km值为2．94mmol／L。     

聚氨酯泡沫固定化重组枯草杆菌三段培养生产青霉素酰化酶

引　言青霉素G酰化酶 (penicillinGacylase ,EC3 5 1 11,PGA)是 β 内酰胺类抗生素工业中的关键酶之一 .目前主要采用大肠杆菌和巨大芽孢杆菌进行工业化生产 ,但由于产酶水平较低、变温发酵和需要苯乙酸诱导等缺点 ,国内外研究者尝试采用各种基因重组技术 ,以期大幅度提高产酶     

枯草芽孢杆菌脂肪酶表达质粒的构建及其表达

以枯草芽孢杆菌168(B.subtilis 168)染色体为模板PCR扩增出P43启动子,与大肠杆菌-枯草杆菌穿梭质粒pUBC19相连得到表达载体pUBC-P43,然后将枯草芽孢杆菌脂肪酶基因lipA克隆到载体pUBC-P43启动子下游,得到重组质粒pUBCPL并转化B.subtilis TZ10.经中性红油脂平板、酶切和PCR方法鉴定得到重组菌TZ10/pUBCPL.宿主菌TZ10是B.subtilis DB104染色体缺失了lipA基因后获得.重组菌经初步发酵,以橄榄油为底物测定发酵上清液最高脂肪酶活力为49.1 U·L-1,而相应菌株DB104发酵最高酶活力仅为11.4 U·L-1.     

Seawater Ozonation of Bacillus subtilis Spores: Implications for the Use of Ozone in Ballast Water Treatment

The potential of ozone for disinfection of ships’ ballast water was investigated using Bacillus subtilis spores as an indicator. The effects of pH, presence of iron, and bacterial strain on disinfection efficacy in seawater, under simulated ballast conditions, were investigated. Ozone dosages of 9 mg/L (pH 7) and 14 mg/L (pH 8.2) and 24 h contact achieved a 4-log inactivation with the various oxidant residuals formed. Iron surface at a ratio to water of 9 m²/m³ impaired the oxidant residuals and the disinfection of spores. Different strains of B. subtilis resulted in different CT values. Ozone does not seem to be a good choice for the control of spore-forming organisms in ballast water, but may be suitable for the control of other species.     

Production and characterization of biosurfactant from Bacillus subtilis CCTCC AB93108

The production and properties of the biosurfactant synthesized by Bacillus subtilis CCTCC AB93108 were studied. The maximum concentration of the surfactant is 1.64 g/L when the bacteria grow in a medium supplemented with glucose as carbon sources. The isolated biosurfactant is a complex of protein and polysaccharide without lipids. It reduces the surface tension of distilled water to 45.9 mN/m, and its critical micelle concentration (CMC) is 2.96 g/L. It can stabilize emulsions of several aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, xylene, n-pentane, n-nonane, gasoline and diesel oil. It presents high emulsification activity and stability in a wide range of temperature (4-100℃) and a long period of duration.     

一株枯草芽孢杆菌分离鉴定及其降解稠油特性

以稠油为唯一碳源,从被稠油污染过的土壤中筛选到一株高效石油烃降解茵,经生理生化鉴定和16S rDNA鉴定确认其为枯草芽孢杆茵.在摇瓶实验中,该菌最佳降解温度为35～45℃,最佳pH值为7.5～8.5,最佳盐质量浓度为8～16 g/L.在最佳降解条件下,当油质量浓度为0.1 g/L时,稠油降解率达34.3%.利用GC-nD分析知,该茵主要降解稠油中n-C9～n-C40的烷烃组分;利用GC-MS分析得知,该茵对蔡及烷基化萘去除彻底,对二苯并噻吩、芴和稠二萘等部分芳烃类化合物有降解作用,在稠油降解过程中菲及菲的衍生物有所增加.     

奇球菌pprI基因增强枯草芽孢杆菌细胞抗性的研究

pprI是近来在奇球菌（Deinococcus Radiodurans）中发现的一个极其重要的DNA修复开关基因.本实验利用穿梭质粒pRADZ3将其转入枯草芽孢杆菌（B-1）中稳定表达,并与转化了空白质粒的菌株（B-2）对照,观察了改造后的两种菌株在H2O2氧化压力和紫外线辐照下的存活率.结果表明,在两种情况下B-1菌株存活率明显高于B-2菌株.证明奇球菌pprI基因在枯草芽孢杆菌中的稳定表达能够增强细胞抗氧化与抗紫外辐射能力.