Detection and Purification of Bacillus cereus Enterotoxins

Bacillus cereus causes two types of food poisoning, emetic and diarrheal. The emetic disease is caused by a small cyclic polypeptide (cereulide), and the diarrheal disease is caused by three different enterotoxins. Commercially available kits are used for detection of two of the enterotoxins. The enterotoxins are secreted by B. cereus in the early stationary phase and can be purified from the growth medium by chromatographic methods. The enterotoxins are membrane-active and the toxicity is tested on Vero cells, while the presence of the emetic toxin is detected using boar spermatozoa. Methods for detection and purification of enterotoxins are described, in addition to detection of the emetic toxin.