Correlative measurement of four biological contaminants on cotton lint, and their implications for occupational health.
Four biological contaminants of cotton fibers (gram-negative bacterial cells, endotoxin, fungal cells, and (1-3)-beta-D-glucan) were measured in 13 cotton lint samples from international origins, using traditional microbiological spread plating and adaptation of the Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. Correlations were evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation analyses. Contamination levels ranged from 713 +/- 212 to 216,830 +/- 30,413 CFU/g gram-negative bacteria; 281 +/- 29 to 9,250 +/- 820 CFU/g fungal cells; 8.30 +/- 0.89 to 137.89 +/- 21.55 ng/g endotoxin; and 15.96 +/- 5.18 to 2,964.42 +/- 313.90 LAL-reactive units/g glucan. Positive correlations existed between all contaminants; however, they were significant only between fungal cells and glucan (p < 0.05) and between endotoxin and glucan (p < 0.01). The highly significant positive correlation between endotoxin and glucan has implications for the health risk posed by the cotton-production environment, as simultaneous inhalation of these agents may cause or exacerbate lung inflammation.
Lane
Samantha R
SR
Division of Pharmacology, Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. LaneSR@cf.ac.uk
Sewell
Robert D E
RD
D032561:Cotton Fiber; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000032:analysis*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D011509:Proteoglycans; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000032:analysis*
D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011509:Proteoglycans; D047071:beta-Glucans; C010770:polysaccharide-K