title: Comparison of analytical methods for the detection of central nervous system tissue in ground beef.
abstract: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is most likely transmitted by the consumption of central nervous system tissue of infected cows. The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity or limits of detection of two central nervous system tissue detection assays (glial fibrillary acidic protein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] and neuron-specific enolase Western blotting assay) in by-products and ground beef. By-products including brain, spinal cord, and ileum were collected from the slaughterhouse and used for analyses with ELISA and Western blotting assays. Beef samples were prepared by mixing ground beef with different amounts of spinal cord tissue (0, 0.03, 0.06, and 0.1%) and were analyzed using the two central nervous system tissue detection methods. Both analytical assays were applicable in detecting central nervous system tissue in ground beef. However, the ELISA method was considered superior because of its ease of use, high sensitivity, and rapidity as compared with the Western blot method.
authors.affiliation: Korea Livestock Products HACCP Management Institute, Anyang 8-dong, Anyang, 430-731, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Gyun
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Cheorun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Mooha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D002417:Cattle; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008461:Meat Products / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein