Abstract:
The aim of the study was the analysis of Lithuania
n honeys for the presence of the
spores of
Clostridium botulinum
. The analyses were performed on multifloral, honey
dew,
nectar-honeydew, rape, buckwheat, heather and linde
n honey bought in direct sale. Prior
to culture on solid media the samples were prepared
by supernatant filtration method and
cultured in parallel in Cooked Meat Medium (CMM) an
d Tripticase Peptone Glucose
Yeast (TPGY) enrichment broths. Bacteria of typical
phenotypic features were obtained
by culture method from 48 honey samples. Identifica
tion of
Clostridium botulinum
types
A, B, E and F was performed with the use of multipl
ex-PCR method. The prevalence
analysis showed 30 (60%) samples contaminated with
Clostrdium botulinum
spores. The
major serotype detected was type A: 20 (66.6%) posi
tive honey samples; while type B was
found in 7 samples (23.3%), type E in 4 samples (13
.3%) and type F in 3 (10%) positive
honey samples. Contamination with more than one typ
e of
C. botulinum
spores was
observed in 3 honey samples.
Keywords:
Botulism, Contamination
, C. botulinum
spores, Cooked meat medium,
Multiplex-PCR, TPGY.
