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P1-192 Reduced Contamination of Campylobacter in Poultry Grown in Mixed Crop-livestock Farms with Cheap Byproducts of Berry Fruits

Sunday, July 26, 2015
Exhibit Hall (Oregon Convention Center)
Serajus Salaheen , University of Maryland , College Park , MD
Mengfei Peng , University of Maryland , College Park , MD
Cecilia Nguyen , University of Maryland , College Park , MD
Christine Mui , University of Maryland , College Park , MD
Debabrata Biswas , University of Maryland , College Park , MD
Introduction: Farm animals serve as a reservoir for a variety of zoonotic pathogens in Mixed Crop-Livestock Farms (MCLFs). As a result, these farm environment and their products including chicken meats and eggs are at higher risk of cross-contamination with zoonotic bacterial pathogens including Campylobacter. Most of the MCLF farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region practice natural and/or pasture organic system and they are not allowed to use synthetic chemicals and antimicrobials. Natural bioactive extracts from cheap byproducts of berry fruits can serve as a potential antimicrobial alternative. 

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of bioactive components extracted from blackberry and blueberry pomace to control Campylobacter colonization in chicken as well as its applicability as animal feed supplement.

Methods: Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) was determined with broth microdilution method. Adhesion and invasiveness assay was carried out in chicken cell-culture model. Expression of inflammatory cytokine genes in host cells was determined with qRT-PCR.

Results: Our results indicated that MBC of blackberry and blueberry pomace extracts were 0.8 and 0.5 mg GAE/ml on Campylobacter jejuni. Physicochemical properties such as cell surface hydrophobicity and auto-aggregation of C. jejuni were altered and swimming motility was reduced by > 80% due to treatment with berry pomace extract. We also found that the pomace extracts influenced the expression of C. jejuni virulence genes, especially flaA and reduced attachment with chicken fibroblast (DF1) cells by > 0.5 log. Berry pomace extract showed anti-inflammatory effect on chicken macrophage (HD11) cell line by reducing the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes, IL-1β and IL-6 when infected with C. jejuni for 24 h.

Significance: This study shows that bioactive extracts from blackberry and blueberry pomace can serve as a potential alternative to chemical antimicrobials and reduce Campylobacter colonization in farm animals specifically poultry, to improve product safety.

Back to: Poster Session 1 – Laboratory and Detection Methods, Low-water Activity; Retail and Food Service Safety; Seafood; Communication Outreach and Education; Produce; Food Toxicology; Non-microbial Food Safety; Food Defense; Microbial Food Spoilage
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