Uptake and translocation of metformin, ciprofloxacin and narasin in forage- and crop plants.

Transfer of bioactive organic compounds from soil to plants might represent animal and human health risks. Sewage sludge and manure are potential sources for bioactive compounds such as human- and veterinary drugs. In the present study, uptake of the anti-diabetic compound, metformin, the antibiotic agent ciprofloxacin and the anti-coccidial narasin in carrot (Daucuscarota ssp. sativus cvs. Napoli) and barley (Hordeumvulgare) were investigated. The pharmaceuticals were selected in order to cover various chemical properties, in addition to their presence in relevant environmental matrixes. The root concentration factors (RCF) found in the present study were higher than the corresponding leaf concentration factors (LCF) for the three test pharmaceuticals. The uptake of metformin was higher compared with ciprofloxacin and narasin for all plant compartments analyzed. Metformin was studied more explicitly with regard to uptake and translocation in meadow fescue (Festucapratense), three other carrot cultivars (D.carota ssp. sativus cvs. Amager, Rothild and Nutri Red), wheat cereal (Triticumaestivum) and turnip rape seed (Brassicacampestris). Uptake of metformin in meadow fescue was comparable with uptake in the four carrot cultivars (RCF 2-10, LCF approximately 1.5), uptake in wheat cereals were comparable with barley cereals (seed concentration factors, SCF, 0.02-0.04) while the accumulation in turnip rape seeds was as high as 1.5. All three pharmaceuticals produced negative effects on growth and development of carrots when grown in soil concentration of 6-10 mg kg(-1) dry weight.

Food poisoning associated with pumilacidin-producing Bacillus pumilus in rice.

Food poisoning caused by other Bacillus species than B. cereus has been described, but the toxins involved have rarely been isolated. Endospores will survive heat treatment and will germinate and multiply in cooked foods producing toxins under appropriate conditions. We describe a small food poisoning outbreak where three people became ill after a dinner in a Chinese restaurant. Acute symptoms including dizziness, headache, chills and back pain developed during the meal, and a few hours later they got stomach cramps and diarrhoea which lasted for several days. Cooked, reheated rice was the prime suspect of the food poisoning, and from the rice large numbers of Bacillus pumilus were isolated. The isolated B. pumilus strain was found to produce a complex of lipopeptides known as pumilacidins with the highest amounts produced at 15 degrees C. This is the first report on isolation of a pumilacidin-producing B. pumilus strain from food implicated in food poisoning and characterization of the organism and the toxin complex involved.

Toxin-producing ability among Bacillus spp. outside the Bacillus cereus group.

A total of 333 Bacillus spp. isolated from foods, water, and food plants were examined for the production of possible enterotoxins and emetic toxins using a cytotoxicity assay on Vero cells, the boar spermatozoa motility assay, and a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Eight strains produced detectable toxins; six strains were cytotoxic, three strains produced putative emetic toxins (different in size from cereulide), and one strain produced both cytotoxin(s) and putative emetic toxin(s). The toxin-producing strains could be assigned to four different species, B. subtilis, B. mojavensis, B. pumilus, or B. fusiformis, by using a polyphasic approach including biochemical, chemotaxonomic, and DNA-based analyses. Four of the strains produced cytotoxins that were concentrated by ammonium sulfate followed by dialysis, and two strains produced cytotoxins that were not concentrated by such a treatment. Two cultures maintained full cytotoxic activity, two cultures reduced their activity, and two cultures lost their activity after boiling. The two most cytotoxic strains (both B. mojavensis) were tested for toxin production at different temperatures. One of these strains produced cytotoxin at growth temperatures ranging from 25 to 42 degrees C, and no reduction in activity was observed even after 24 h of growth at 42 degrees C. The strains that produced putative emetic toxins were tested for the influence of time and temperature on the toxin production. It was shown that they produced putative emetic toxin faster or just as fast at 30 as at 22 degrees C. None of the cytotoxic strains produced B. cereus-like enterotoxins as tested by PCR or by immunological methods.