ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: An increasing interest in snail farming in Greece and other European countries has been observed. Despite the fact that edible snails have been involved with problems of Salmonella spp. contamination, there are to our knowledge only limited studies regarding microbiological safety and hygiene of such products. Enumeration of microbial populations and presence/absence of Salmonella spp. in snail meat and intestines of wild Cornu aspersum, Helix lucorum and cultured Cornu aspersum snails from indoor/outdoor type farms was conducted. Furthermore, snail-processing steps were simulated in the laboratory and the population reduction in snail meat was determined. RESULTS: Microbial populations were higher in intestines than snail meat in almost all cases. Escherichia coli/coliforms and Enterococcus spp. populations were lower in the intestines and snail meat of cultured C. aspersum. Salmonella spp. were detected in the intestines and snail meat of wild snails only. The high levels of bacterial populations were considerably reduced after the appropriate processing. CONCLUSION: The lower populations of E. coli/coliforms, Enterococcus spp. and especially the absence of Salmonella spp. in cultured snails show that the controlled conditions decrease the possibility of pathogen presence and contribute to food safety and public health.
Subject(s)
Animals, Wild/microbiology , Aquaculture , Conus Snail/microbiology , Enterobacteriaceae/growth & development , Food Handling , Helix, Snails/microbiology , Shellfish/microbiology , Animals , Animals, Wild/growth & development , Bacterial Load , Bacterial Typing Techniques , Conus Snail/growth & development , Cooking , Enterobacteriaceae/classification , Enterobacteriaceae/isolation & purification , Enterococcus/classification , Enterococcus/growth & development , Enterococcus/isolation & purification , Escherichia coli/classification , Escherichia coli/growth & development , Escherichia coli/isolation & purification , Greece , Helix, Snails/growth & development , Intestines/growth & development , Intestines/microbiology , Mediterranean Islands , Microbial Viability , Salmonella/classification , Salmonella/growth & development , Salmonella/isolation & purification , Shellfish/economicsABSTRACT
The bacterium Gordonia sp. 647W.R.1a.05 was cultivated from the venom duct of the cone snail, Conus circumcisus. The Gordonia sp. organic extract modulated the action potential of mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons. Assay-guided fractionation led to the identification of the new compound circumcin A (1) and 11 known analogs (2-12). Two of these compounds, kurasoin B (7) and soraphinol A (8), were active in a human norepinephrine transporter assay with Ki values of 2575 and 867 nM, respectively. No neuroactivity had previously been reported for compounds in this structural class. Gordonia species have been reproducibly isolated from four different cone snail species, indicating a consistent association between these organisms.
Subject(s)
Biological Products/pharmacology , Conus Snail/microbiology , Fatty Alcohols/pharmacology , Gordonia Bacterium/physiology , Action Potentials/drug effects , Animals , Biological Products/chemistry , Biological Products/isolation & purification , Biological Products/metabolism , Cells, Cultured , Fatty Alcohols/chemistry , Fatty Alcohols/isolation & purification , Fatty Alcohols/metabolism , Ganglia, Spinal/cytology , Humans , Mice , Neurons/cytology , Neurons/drug effects , Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins/metabolism , SymbiosisABSTRACT
The cone snail Conus pulicarius from the Philippines provides a specific habitat for actinomycetes and other bacteria. A phenotypic screen using primary cultures of mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons revealed that one C. pulicarius associate, Streptomyces sp. CP32, produces a series of natural products that enhance or diminish whole-cell Ca(2+) flux. These compounds include known thiazoline compounds and a series of new derivatives, pulicatins A-E (6-10). Individual compounds were shown to bind to a series of human receptors, with selective binding to the human serotonin 5-HT(2B) receptor. Here, we report the structure elucidation of the new compounds and results of the neurological assays.
