Clostridium Perfringens Spores in Polish Honey Samples

Honey microbiota, methods for determining the microbiological composition and the antimicrobial effect of honey - A review

Honey is a natural product used since ancient times due to its taste, aroma, and therapeutic properties (antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity). The purpose of this review is to present the species of microorganisms that can survive in honey and the effect they can have on bees and consumers. The techniques for identifying the microorganisms present in honey are also described in this study. Honey contains bacteria, yeasts, molds, and viruses, and some of them may present beneficial properties for humans. The antimicrobial effect of honey is due to its acidity and high viscosity, high sugar concentration, low water content, the presence of hydrogen peroxide and non-peroxidase components, particularly methylglyoxal (MGO), phenolic acids, flavonoids, proteins, peptides, and non-peroxidase glycopeptides. Honey has antibacterial action (it has effectiveness against bacteria, e.g. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Acinetobacter, etc.), antifungal (effectiveness against Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Rhizopus spp., and Penicillium spp.), antiviral (effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, Herpes simplex virus type 1, Influenza virus A and B, Varicella zoster virus), and antiparasitic action (effectiveness against Plasmodium berghei, Giardia and Trichomonas, Toxoplasma gondii) demonstrated by numerous studies that are comprised and discussed in this review.

The study correlation between physicochemical properties, botanical origin and microbial contamination of honey from the south of Ukraine

The honey production is one of the most important agriculture branches of Ukraine. Since the beginning of 2000 year, honey becomes one of the first products of agriculture production that was allowed to export from Ukraine to the EU countries. The present study aims to evaluate microbial composition of honey of higher and first grades from south of Ukraine, which differ in water, sugar content and acidity. The correlation beetween physicochemical properties, botanical origin and microbial composition of honey were investigated. Total aerobic count (TAC), total count of fungi (TFC) and yeast (TYC), number of sporeforming anaerobes (SFA), Bacillus cereus and Clostridium botulinus were determined. Plate dilution method with specific cultural mediums and incubation conditions was used for indication and identification of microorganisms as well for quantitative CFU count determination in 1g of honey. The results indicated that the value of TAC was from 1.4 ±0.1 x 102 to 3.7 ±0.5 x 102 CFU.g-1 in higher grade honey and from 2.1 ±0.3 x 102 to 4.6 ±0.4 x 102 CFU.g-1 in first grade honey. Average amounts of fungi and yest in the first grade honey were more than in higher grade honey and amounted 15.±0.9 CFU.g-1, 6.48 ±0.7 CFU.g-1 and 17.98 ±1.2 CFU.g-1, 8.04 ±0.8 CFU.g-1 respectively. Also it was found that, 25.8% and 37.1% of higher and first grade honey samples had sporeforming anaerobes. The more of samples with Bacillus cereus and Clostridium botulinum were among samples of first-grade honey samples. In addition, we have determined that, samples of buckwheat honey and honey from fodder crops of both grades were more contaminated with all microorganisms than samples of sunflower honey and honey from fruit and non-fruit trees.Results of this work has revealed the relationship between the number of different groups and species of microorganisms in higher and first grade honey from south of Ukraine and its physicochemical properties and botanical origin. Our research could help to substantiate the sources of contamination of honey and confirm the existing findings of scientists about the direct proportional dependence of the content of microorganisms in honey, depending on its moisture content, acidity and sugars.

Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium perfringens Occurrence in Kazakh Honey Samples

The aim of this study was to assess occurrence of Clostridium botulinum and Clostridium perfringens in honey samples from Kazakhstan. Analyses were carried out using a set of PCR methods for identification of anaerobic bacteria, and detection of toxin genes of C. botulinum and C. perfringens. Among 197 samples, C. botulinum was noticed in only one (0.5%). The isolated strain of this pathogen showed the presence of the bont/A and ntnh genes. C. perfringens strains were isolated from 18 (9%) samples, and mPCR (multiplex PCR) analysis led to them all being classified as toxin type A with the ability to produce α toxin. Sequence analysis of 16S rDNA genes showed occurrence in 4 samples of other anaerobes related to C. botulinum, which were C. sporogenes and C. beijerinckii strains. C. botulinum prevalence in honey samples from Kazakhstan in comparison to the prevalence in samples collected from the other regions seems to be less. The highest prevalence of Clostridium sp. was noticed in the East Kazakhstan province. Our study is the first survey on BoNT-producing clostridia and C. perfringens prevalence in Kazakh honey.