Alfalfa and fenugreek sprouts are healthy foods,but they are occasionally contaminated with bacterial pathogens and serve as vehicles for transmitting foodborne illnesses.This study examined the efficacy of ascaroside...Alfalfa and fenugreek sprouts are healthy foods,but they are occasionally contaminated with bacterial pathogens and serve as vehicles for transmitting foodborne illnesses.This study examined the efficacy of ascaroside(ascr)#18 treatment for the control of enterohemorrhagic E.coli(EHEC)growth on sprouts.Commercial alfalfa and fenugreek seeds were decontaminated with 20,000 ppm of NaClO,and residual chlorine was neutralized with Dey-Engley broth.Decontaminated seeds were treated with 1 mM or 1μM ascr#18,a plant immunity modulator,before being dried and mixed with sandy soil inoculated with E.coli F4546 or BAA-2326 at 10^(4)-10^(5)CFU/g.The inoculated seeds were sprouted on 1%water agar at 25◦C for 7 days in the dark.Seed or sprout samples were collected on days 0,1,3,5,and 7 for enumeration of bacterial populations.Data was fit into the general linear model and analyzed using Fisher’s least significant different test of the statistical analysis software.Treatment with ascr#18 significantly(P≤0.05)reduced the cell population of EHEC on sprouts.The mean EHEC populations in the 1 mM or 1μM treatment groups were 3.31 or 1.56 log CFU/g lower compared to the control groups.Besides treatment,sprout seed type and sprouting time were also significant independent variables influencing the growth of EHEC,according to the results of type III error analysis.However,EHEC strain type was not a significant independent variable.The study suggests that ascr#18 could be potentially used to control EHEC contamination and improve the microbial safety of sprouts.展开更多
基金supported by the Small Business Technology Transfer Program of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health,United States.The grant number is 1R41AI152915-01.
文摘Alfalfa and fenugreek sprouts are healthy foods,but they are occasionally contaminated with bacterial pathogens and serve as vehicles for transmitting foodborne illnesses.This study examined the efficacy of ascaroside(ascr)#18 treatment for the control of enterohemorrhagic E.coli(EHEC)growth on sprouts.Commercial alfalfa and fenugreek seeds were decontaminated with 20,000 ppm of NaClO,and residual chlorine was neutralized with Dey-Engley broth.Decontaminated seeds were treated with 1 mM or 1μM ascr#18,a plant immunity modulator,before being dried and mixed with sandy soil inoculated with E.coli F4546 or BAA-2326 at 10^(4)-10^(5)CFU/g.The inoculated seeds were sprouted on 1%water agar at 25◦C for 7 days in the dark.Seed or sprout samples were collected on days 0,1,3,5,and 7 for enumeration of bacterial populations.Data was fit into the general linear model and analyzed using Fisher’s least significant different test of the statistical analysis software.Treatment with ascr#18 significantly(P≤0.05)reduced the cell population of EHEC on sprouts.The mean EHEC populations in the 1 mM or 1μM treatment groups were 3.31 or 1.56 log CFU/g lower compared to the control groups.Besides treatment,sprout seed type and sprouting time were also significant independent variables influencing the growth of EHEC,according to the results of type III error analysis.However,EHEC strain type was not a significant independent variable.The study suggests that ascr#18 could be potentially used to control EHEC contamination and improve the microbial safety of sprouts.
