Preliminary Detection of Bacillus species in Commercial Honey

Abstract

Aim: This research is aimed at detecting the presence of Bacillus species in honey using morphological characteristics, biochemical tests and preliminary molecular studies. Place and Duration of Study:The study was carried out in the department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Medical Research Yaba Lagos, Nigeria. The study was carried out from June to July 2012. Methodology: A total of 33 honey samples were used for this study, twenty-eight of the honey samples were of local origin while 5 were of international origin. Twenty-eight commercial honey samples were obtained from the six geographical regions in Nigeria from commercial retailers. The five foreign honey samples were obtained from the supermarkets namely: Friz fruit, Blossom, Forever, Aloe Vera and Rose honey, all of international origin. The honey samples were inoculated into sterile agar, blood and tryptone soy plates using the spread plate technique. Isolates obtained were purified and subjected to morphological tests, biochemical tests and further identification using polymerase chain reaction. Results: All the honey samples had microbial growth in them, higher counts were observed in the commercial honeys from retailers than the foreign honey samples. Forty isolates suspected to be Bacillus from biochemical tests were subjected to PCR, 14 from the 40 were confirmed to be Bacillus spp.

Probiotic Properties of Bacillus Strains Isolated from Stingless Bee (Heterotrigona itama) Honey Collected across Malaysia

“…The presence of Bacillus spp. in honey could originate from the bee itself or other environmental factors such as pollen, dust, and air [15]. Bacillus and many other genera, such as Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium, Leuconostoc, and Pediococcus are regarded as probiotics [16].…”

Fluorometric determination of proline in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography after pre-column derivatization with 7-fluoro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD-F)

“…These proline levels were lower than those observed in vitex honey (235.1 mg kg À1 ), jujube blossom honey (319.9 mg kg À1 ) and multioral honey (322.7 mg kg À1 ). In addition, the average moisture content in 14 samples of linden, oil seed rape and litchi honeys exceeded 21% (the maximum water content for honey), 32 and this was greater than the average moisture content of vitex, jujube blossom and multioral honeys. These results indicate that there is a negative correlation between the proline content and water content.…”

Physicochemical and Microbiological Analysis of Stingless Bees Honey Collected from Local Market in Malaysia

“…Total coliform indicates the sanitary quality of honey [21], and for this study, the coliform was present only in H1 and H3 samples. The low counts and limited variety of microbes are expected because of honey antibacterial properties against the growth or persistence of many organisms [31,38]. Yeast and mold were not detected for H1, H2, and H6 but, it was present in a high number (> 100) for the other three samples.…”