ISSN:
1745-4565
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
,
Process Engineering, Biotechnology, Nutrition Technology
Notes:
Twenty-one isolates each of Bacillus (B.) cereus, B. licheniformis and B. subtilis from street foods, collected in central Johannesburg, were randomly selected to test for cytotoxicity against McCoy 5A Mouse cells using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthizol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, and observation by confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Forty-eight percent of B. cereus, 33% of B. licheniformis and 19% of B. subtilis strains produced cytotoxic compounds. For B. cereus strains, all supernatants exhibiting cytotoxic effects were inactivated by heat treatment at 121C for 15 min. By contrast, 24% of B. licheniformis and 10% of B. subtilis supernatants exhibited cytotoxic effects following heat treatment. CSLM and SEM showed that McCoy cells treated with cytotoxic supernatants exhibited leakage and necrosis. Presence of B. cereus, B. licheniformis and B. subtilis in street foods in high numbers may pose potetnial safety risks due to production of cytotoxic compounds.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4565.2002.tb00333.x
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