Abstract
Aim:The aims of the present study were to assess the prevalence, identification, and antibiogram pattern of Bacillus cereus from 215 samples of different milk and milk products in and around Jammu region.Materials and Methods:In the present study, 215 samples of milk, rasgulla, burfi, rasmalai, kalaari, paneer, ice cream, and pastry were collected and analyzed for the isolation of the B. cereus using PEMBA, and antibiogram pattern was observed for all the milk and milk products.Results:B. cereus was detected in 61/215 samples with an overall prevalence of 28.37%. Biotyping revealed predominantly 5, 7, and 2 biotypes in raw milk. Burfi and ice cream revealed 2, 3, 5, and 7 biotypes. Rasgulla had 2, 3, and 5 biotypes; paneer and rasmalai had biotypes 2 and 5, while kalaari revealed biotype 5. Antibiogram pattern revealed that isolates were highly sensitive to gentamicin (100%), intermediate to ampicillin (40.98%), tetracycline (31.14%), erythromycin (29.50%), and amoxicillin (26.22%), and high resistance against penicillin G (100%). Adulteration of starch was detected in 16.66 % raw milk samples. All starch positive samples were positive for B. cereus. However, 12 starch negative samples also yielded B. cereus.Conclusion:From this study, it was concluded that highest prevalence of B. cereus was found in ice cream. Several isolates of B. cereus showed toxigenic activity, so the presence of B. cereus in milk and milk products may be of public health hazard. The antibiogram pattern of B. cereus isolates showed sensitivity to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, and resistance to penicillin-G and cephalexin. The presence of B. cereus in milk and milk products showed a strong association besides establishing the fact that starch adulteration can be indicative of the presence of B. cereus.
Highlights
Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive, motile, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium
The present study was carried out to explore the prevalence of B. cereus in milk and milk products collected from Jammu city
The present study revealed maximum contamination of ice cream, rasgulla, and burfi with B. cereus, followed by pastry, raw milk, rasmalai, paneer, and kalaari (Table-2)
Summary
Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive, motile, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium. B. cereus is associated with two distinct types of gastrointestinal disorders, the diarrheal and emetic syndrome [1,2]. There are different species of Bacillus, of which the B. cereus is the most important microorganism involved in the spoilage of dairy environment [3]. B. cereus is sensitive to gentamicin, chloramphenicol, vancomycin, and ciprofloxacin, while highly resistant to penicillin G [4,5,6,7]. B. cereus is of concern because of its nature and growth in the dairy environment [8]. The isolates of B. cereus from products of dairy origin produce lipase, and other proteases which are thermostable, i.e., have the ability to remain active after pasteurization
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