Microbiological quality of ayib, a traditional Ethiopian cottage cheese

One-hundred samples of ayib, a traditional Ethiopian cottage cheese, were purchased from Awassa market and analysed for their aerobic mesophilic counts, psychrotropic counts, yeasts and molds, coliforms, spore-formers, enterococci, lactic acid bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes, staphylococci and Bacillus cereus. The majority of the samples showed counts of mesophilic aerobic bacteria, yeasts and enterococci of 10⁸, 10⁷ and 10⁷ cfu/g. About 55% of the samples were positive for coliforms and faecal coliforms. Listeria spp. were not detected in any of the samples. B. cereus and S. aureus were isolated at varying frequencies but at low numbers (10²–10³). The pH value of the samples varied between 3.3 and 4.6 with about 40% having pH lower than 3.7.     

Chemoselective Addition of Halomethyllithiums to Functionalized Isatins:A Straightforward Access to Spiro‐Epoxyoxindoles

An efficient, chemoselective approach to spiro‐epoxyoxindoles via the addition of chloromethyllithium followed by ring‐closure of the intermediate alkoxide is reported. Chemoselectivity is fully preserved in the presence of different electrophilic sites. The synthetic potential of selected spiro‐epoxyindoles has been exploited in the copper(I)‐catalyzed intramolecular oxyarylation of an alkyne and in the formation of N,N‐dimethylisoindigo via the addition of dihalocarbenoids.

     

Conductive Supramolecular Polymer Nanocomposites with Tunable Properties to Manipulate Cell Growth and Functions

Synthetic bioactive nanocomposites show great promise in biomedicine for use in tissue growth, wound healing and the potential for bioengineered skin substitutes. Hydrogen-bonded supramolecular polymers (3A-PCL) can be combined with graphite crystals to form graphite/3A-PCL composites with tunable physical properties. When used as a bioactive substrate for cell culture, graphite/3A-PCL composites have an extremely low cytotoxic activity on normal cells and a high structural stability in a medium with red blood cells. A series of in vitro studies demonstrated that the resulting composite substrates can efficiently interact with cell surfaces to promote the adhesion, migration, and proliferation of adherent cells, as well as rapid wound healing ability at the damaged cellular surface. Importantly, placing these substrates under an indirect current electric field at only 0.1 V leads to a marked acceleration in cell growth, a significant increase in total cell numbers, and a remarkable alteration in cell morphology. These results reveal a newly created system with great potential to provide an efficient route for the development of multifunctional bioactive substrates with unique electro-responsiveness to manipulate cell growth and functions.     

Bacteriological profile and holding temperatures of ready-to-serve food items in an open market in Awassa, Ethiopia

Various types of ready-to-serve food items purchased at the Awassa open market were evaluated for their bacteriological profile and holding temperatures. The food items included roasted offals, fish soup, cooked and sauced macaroni and spaghetti, and shiro sauce. Spaghetti and macaroni were held at ambient temperatures (20-30 degrees C) and had high aerobic mesophilic count (> 10(6) cfu/g) and Enterobacteriaceae count (> 10(5) cfu/g). They also yielded Shigella and Staphylococcus spp. Most of the other food items were held at higher temperatures (> 40 degrees C) and the aerobic mesophilic count in most cases was relatively lower (< 10(5) cfu/g). Several bacterial genera were isolated and Micrococcus and Bacillus spp. dominated the aerobic microflora. The unhygienic conditions of the food service environment, possibilities of cross contamination from utensils and keeping food items at ambient temperatures for several hours were considered to be critical points.     

Behaviour of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during the fermentation of Datta and Awaze, traditional Ethiopian fermented condiments, and during product storage at ambient and refrigeration temperatures

The survival of E. coli O157:H7 in fermenting foods and its prolonged survival in refrigerated fermented foods is documented. This prompted the study to evaluate survival of E. coli O157:H7 during the fermentation of Datta and Awaze, traditional Ethiopian condiments. Datta was prepared by wet milling a variety of spices along with green or red chilli and fermenting it by lactic acid bacteria. Awaze is a slurry made of red pepper, garlic and ginger to which various other spices were added and fermented by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts. The Datta or Awaze slurry was separately inoculated with three strains of E. coli O157:H7 and the fermentation was allowed to proceed at ambient (20–25°C) temperatures for 7 days. When fermenting Datta or Awaze was initially inoculated at low inoculum level (3 log cfu/g), the test strains were not recovered after 24 h of fermentation. At higher initial inoculum level (6 log cfu/g), however, counts of the test strains in Datta at day 7 were less by about 1.5 log unit than the initial inoculum level. In fermenting Awaze, all test strains were completely eliminated in 7 days. The pH of the fermenting green and red Datta was reduced from 5.2 to 4.4 and that of Awaze dropped from 4.9 to 3.8 during this time. In another experiment, the fermented products were separately inoculated with the E. coli O157:H7 test strains at levels of 6 log cfu/g and incubated at ambient and refrigeration (4°C) temperatures for 7 days. In fermented Datta, two of the three strains were not recovered by enrichment after 6 days of storage at ambient temperatures. In fermented Awaze, all strains were below countable levels at day 5, but could still be recovered by enrichment at day 7. At refrigeration storage, counts of the test strains in Datta and Awaze products were <3 log cfu/g at day 7. The inhibition of our E. coli O157:H7 test strains in Datta and Awaze may be due to the antimicrobial activity of spices and other metabolites produced by LAB which may be effective at low pH.     

Yeast and lactic acid flora of tej, an indigenous Ethiopian honey wine: variations within and between production units

A total of 200 samples of tej, an indigenous Ethiopian honey wine, were collected from ten production units at different production times. The samples were analysed for their microbial flora. Mean counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and aerobic spores for the different production units were <3 log cfu/ml. Coliforms and other members of Enterobacteriaceae were below detectable levels basically due to the low pH of the samples (<4.0). Yeasts were among the dominant micro-organisms in all samples with mean counts of 6 log cfu/ml for all production units. Over 25% of the yeast isolates belonged to Saccharomyces cerevisiae followed by Kluyvermyces bulgaricus (16%), Debaromyces phaffi (14%) and K. veronae (10%). Yeast counts showed significant variation within samples of a production unit (CV>10%) and difference in counts among all samples was also significant (P<0.01). The lactic acid bacteria had counts of 6 log cfu/ml with a significant variation within samples of a production unit (CV>10%) or among all samples (P<0.01). In most production units, the heterolactics had higher counts than the homolactics. The lactic flora consisted of Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc and Pediococcus species. The lactobacilli were, however, the most frequently encountered groups. In most of the samples, the lactic flora was dominated by two (49.5%) or three (46%) groups of lactic acid bacteria.     

Growth potential of Salmonella infantis and Escherichia coli in fermenting tempeh made from horsebean,pea and chickpea and their inhibition by Lactobacillus plantarum

Salmonella infantis and Escherichia coli multiplied to varying degrees during the fermentation of unacidified horsebean, pea and chickpea tempeh. Active mycelial growth on the beans resulted in a sharp increase in pH. This was always accompanied by a sharp increase in the growth rate of the test organisms. Acidification of the beans during soaking decreased the growth rate of the test organisms only until active mycelial growth started. Inoculation of cooked beans with Lactobacillus plantarum resulted in a complete inhibition of E coli in unacidified and acidified chickpea tempeh and acidified pea tempeh. Marked inhibition of E coli was also noted in unacidified pea tempeh and acidified horsebean tempeh. S infantis was also completely inhibited by L plantarum in unacidified and acidified chickpea tempeh. In pea and horsebean tempeh, counts of S infantis were always lower in Lactobacillus-inoculated fermenting beans than in the control. Beside the pH, undissociated acids and other substances produced by L plantarum may be inhibitory to the test organisms. The use of L plantarum may be considered for the control of pathogens during commercial-scale tempeh production.