title: [Microbiological contamination and antimicrobial activity of cristalised cane sugar on some medically important microorganisms in Costa Rica].
abstract: Microbiological contamination and antimicrobial activity of cristalised cane sugar on some medically important microorganisms in Costa Rica. Unrefined cristalised cane sugar, obtained after the filtration and evaporation of sugar cane juice, is a nutritional product of traditional consumption in Costa Rica and other Neotropical countries. It has been used in the topic treatment of infected wounds, with satisfactory results even with some antibiotic-ressistant bacteria. We studied the microbiological quality of 50 commercial samples. The analyses included total aerobic and anaerobic bacteria plate count; aerobic and anaerobic spore count; mold and yeast count; total and fecal coliforms; and presence of Clostridium botulinum. The antimicrobial effect was tested for Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), S. epidermidis (UCR 2902), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Salmonella enteritidis (ATCC 13076), Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 19116) and Aspergillus niger (Asni 06). Most of the samples (76%) presented counts lower than 100 CFU/g especially for sporulated forms (90% lower than 20 CFU/g), the mold and yeast count was higher (38% higher than 10(2) CFU/g), demonstrating the importance of these microorganisms in the spoilage of the product; 76% of the samples presented fecal contamination; C. botulinum was not isolated with the methodology employed. No inhibitory effect was observed for A. niger, but all samples han an inhibitory effect over the other species, especially for P. aeruginosa and S. aureus.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Microbiología y Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales (CIET), Universidad de Costa Rica, 2060 San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pujol
authors.forename: Jendry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: María Laura
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Arias
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003014:Clostridium botulinum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003364:Costa Rica; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D031786:Saccharum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D019422:Dietary Sucrose