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Kefir is a traditional fermented milk beverage used throughout the world for centuries. A cell-penetrating peptide, F3, was isolated from kefir by Sephadex G-50 gel filtration, DEAE-52 ion exchange, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. F3 was determined to be a low molecular weight peptide containing one leucine and one tyrosine with two phosphate radicals. This peptide displayed antimicrobial activity across a broad spectrum of organisms including several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi, with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 125 to 500 μg/mL. Cellular penetration and accumulation of F3 were determined by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The peptide was able to penetrate the cellular membrane of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Changes in cell morphology were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that peptide F3 may be a good candidate for use as an effective biological preservative in agriculture and the food industry.

A highly specific and sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA）was developed for the first time for the detection of chrysoidine, a dye banned in soybean milk film. Two haptens with different spacer arms were synthesized to produce antibodies. Both homologous and heterologous immunoassay formats were compared to enhance the icELISA sensitivity. The heterologous icELISA exhibited better performance, with an IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) of 0.33 ng/mL, a limit of detection (LOD, 10% inhibitory concentration) of 0.04 ng/mL, and a limit of quantitation (LOQ, 20%–80% inhibitory concentration) from 0.09 to 4.9 ng/mL. The developed icELISA was high sensitive and specific, and was applied to determine chrysoidine in fortified soybean milk film samples. The results were in good agreement with that obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses.

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