Menstrum for culture preservation and medium for seed preparation in a tetanus toxin production process containing no animal or dairy products.
OBJECTIVE
To completely eliminate animal and dairy products from the lyophilization menstrum and the seed medium used to produce tetanus toxin with Clostridium tetani.


RESULTS
Tetanus toxin production in a recently developed fermentation medium lacking animal and dairy products was studied with different seed media. It was found that soy peptone could completely replace the beef heart infusion plus animal peptone previously used as seed medium. In addition, we found that cells lyophilized in soy milk could replace the usual type of cells lyophilized in cow's milk.


CONCLUSIONS
We have now developed a complete tetanus toxin production process containing no animal and dairy products.


CONCLUSIONS
Toxoid preparations made from toxin produced with animal and dairy products can contain undesirable contaminants such as the prion causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow's Disease) or antigenic peptides that stimulate anaphylactic reactions and other undesirable immune reactions in immunized hosts. The new vegetable-based process described here avoids such unfortunate possibilities.
Fang
A
A
Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Gerson
D F
DF
Demain
A L
AL
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003017:Clostridium tetani / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D003611:Dairy Products; D005285:Fermentation; D010461:Peptones / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013744:Tetanus Toxin / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D003470:Culture Media; D010461:Peptones; D013744:Tetanus Toxin