EFFECT OF SUBTILIN ON SPORES OF CLOSTRIDIUM BOTULINUM

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
All of 8 strains of C. botulinum tested and a putrefactive anaerobe (P. A. 3679) were sensitive to low concns. of subtilin in pork infusion-HCO-3 medium. Subtilin reduced the viable count rapidly in a medium which supports rapid germination. In a medium where germination of spores is slow due to omission of HCO-3, subtilin reduced the count slowly. This suggests that subtilin is not effective against many of the spores until the germination process is started. Inocula as high as 800,000 spores per plate were stopped by 20 ppm. subtilin. One ppm. of subtilin permitted only 253 of 800,000 spores to produce colonies.