No abstract

To reduce the amounts of verocytotoxin (VT) produced by Escherichia coli O157:H7, various spices were screened for their ability to suppress VT production. Extracts of these spices were prepared with 70% ethyl alcohol. When E. coli O157:H7 cells were grown to the stationary phase at 37 degrees C in Luria-Bertani medium supplemented with 0.02% allspice extract, the production of both VT1 and VT2 was significantly reduced. Neither growth inhibition nor a delay in the lag phase was observed when the cells were cultured in the presence of 0.02% allspice extract. An active component of the allspice extract was purified by HPLC and was identified as eugenol. When we examined the suppressive effect of eugenol on VT production by E. coli O157:H7, the amounts of both intracellular and extracellular VTs were found to decrease with an increase in eugenol concentration. Our results suggest that eugenol is useful for reducing the virulence of E. coli O157:H7.

No abstract

We examined the attachment of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 to abiotic surfaces of cooking utensils. When the cell suspension in 0.85% NaCl (about 100 cells/mL, 10 mL) was contacted with various abiotic surfaces (square pieces, 25 cm²) at 25 °C for 20 min, the number of attached cells varied depending on the types of abiotic materials. The pathogen well attached to stainless steel (about 50 cells/25 cm²), pure titanium (35 to 45 cells/25 cm²), and glass (about 20 cells/25 cm²), but little attached to aluminum foil and plastics, irrespective of strains used. Fewer cells (below 10 cells/25 cm²) attached to stainless steel, pure titanium, and glass surfaces conditioned with aseptically sliced beef (sirloin) and autoclaved beef tallow at 25 °C for 20 min, but bovine serum albumin did not reduce the number of attached cells. The cells grown at 15 °C to the stationary phase (OD660 = about 2.8) less attached to the abiotic surfaces than those grown at 25 °C and 37 °C. When we pretreated the cells at 37 °C for 2 h with 50 μM N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (HHL), the number of cells attached to stainless steel was reduced by 70%. The number of cells attached to cooking utensils seemed to change depending on types of abiotic materials, adhesion of beef tallow to abiotic surfaces, growth temperature of the pathogen, and HHL-producing bacteria.

We screened foods containing indigestible ingredients in the ability to adsorb Shiga toxin (Stx). When 5 mg of foods and dietary fibers such as dry vegetables and inulin were mixed and incubated with 0.5 mL of Stx solution (100 ng/mL) containing 0.5% bovine serum albumin, both Stx1 and Stx2 seemed to be adsorbed by only a fermented food, natto (a traditional Japanese food prepared from steamed soybeans by the biological action of Bacillus subtilis). We purified the Stx-adsorbing substance from natto by extraction with H O, acid treatment, Proteinase K treatment, and an ion exchange chromatography. The purified substance showed an average molecular mass of about 600 kDa. We identified it as poly-γ-glutamate (PGA) by amino acid analysis of its hydrolysate and peptide analysis after its treatment with Proteinase K. Purified PGA (MW: molecular weight = about 600 kDa) was considered to adsorb both Stx1 and Stx2 when we separated adsorbed and unadsorbed Stxs (MW = about 72 kDa) by an ultrafiltration method with a centrifugal filter unit (MWCO: molecular weight cut-off = 100 K). However, PGA with the ability to adsorb Stx was an insoluble form precipitated in the filter unit during centrifugation. PGA precipitated beyond the saturated density was also confirmed to well adsorb both Stx1 and Stx2 by an equilibrated dialysis method. To the best of our knowledge, this is the 1st report on food-adsorbing Stx.