An official website of the United States government.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Research Publications (Food Safety)

This page tracks research articles published in national and international peer-reviewed journals. Recent articles are available ahead of print and searchable by Journal, Article Title, and Category. Research publications are tracked across six categories: Bacterial Pathogens, Chemical Contaminants, Natural Toxins, Parasites, Produce Safety, and Viruses. Articles produced by USDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) and FDA Grant Funding Agencies (requires login) are also tracked in Scopus.

Displaying 1 - 12 of 12

  1. Antimicrobial Properties of Bacillus Probiotics as Animal Growth Promoters

    • Antibiotics
    • Antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) suppress the growth of infectious pathogens. These pathogens negatively impact agricultural production worldwide and often cause health problems if left untreated. Here, we evaluate six Bacillus strains (BPR-11, BPR-12, BPR-13, BPR-14, BPR-16 and BPR-17), which are known for their ability to survive harsh environmental conditions, as AGP replacements in animal feed.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Clostridium perfringens
      • Salmonella
      • Staphylococcus aureus
  2. Targeting Enterococci with Antimicrobial Activity against Clostridium perfringens from Poultry

    • Antibiotics
    • Necrotic enteritis (NE), caused by Clostridium perfringens, is an emerging issue in poultry farming. New approaches, other than antibiotics, are necessary to prevent NE development and the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Enterococci are commensal microorganisms that can produce enterocins, antimicrobial peptides with activities against pathogens, and could be excellent candidates for protective cultures.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Clostridium perfringens
  3. Plant-Derived Xanthones against Clostridial Enteric Infections

    • Antibiotics
    • Intestinal bacterial infections are a major threat to human and animal health. In this study, we found plant-derived antibacterial xanthones, particularly α-mangostin (AMG) from the mangosteen peel, exhibiting extraordinary activities against Clostridium perfringens. Structure–activity relationship analysis showed that prenylation modulated the activity of xanthones.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Clostridium perfringens
  4. Efficacy of Two Probiotic Products Fed Daily to Reduce Clostridium perfringens-Based Adverse Health and Performance Effects in Dairy Calves

    • Antibiotics
    • Clostridium perfringens is a spore-forming, anaerobic bacterium which produces toxins and exoenzymes that cause disease in calves, especially necro-hemorrhagic enteritis-associated diarrhea often resulting in death. Clostridium infections are currently being treated with antibiotics, but even with the prudent administration of antibiotics, there are significant rates of recurrence. Probiotics, an alternative to antibiotics, are commonly employed to prevent clostridial infections.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Clostridium perfringens
  5. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Frequency of Antibiotic-Resistant Clostridium Species in Saudi Arabia

    • Antibiotics
    • Clostridium is a genus comprising Gram-positive, rod-shaped, spore-forming, anaerobic bacteria that cause a variety of diseases. However, there is a shortage of information regarding antibiotic resistance in the genus in Saudi Arabia. This comprehensive analysis of research results published up until December 2021 intends to highlight the incidence of antibiotic resistance in Clostridium species in Saudi Arabia.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Clostridium perfringens
  6. Prevalence, Antibiotic Resistance, Toxin-Typing and Genotyping of Clostridium perfringens in Raw Beef Meats Obtained from Qazvin City, Iran

    • Antibiotics
    • Clostridium perfringens is one of the highest prevailing spore-forming foodborne pathogens, which is widely distributed and causes severe disease and outbreaks in humans and animals. Raw meat and poultry are the main vehicles of this pathogen. In this study, we investigated the prevalence, antibiotic resistance pattern, toxin-encoding genes and genetic diversity of C.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Clostridium perfringens
  7. Butyrate, Forskolin, and Lactose Synergistically Enhance Disease Resistance by Inducing the Expression of the Genes Involved in Innate Host Defense and Barrier Function

    • Antibiotics
    • The rising concern of antimicrobial resistance highlights a need for effective alternatives to antibiotics for livestock production. Butyrate, forskolin, and lactose are three natural products known to induce the synthesis of host defense peptides (HDP), which are a critical component of innate immunity. In this study, the synergy among butyrate, forskolin, and lactose in enhancing innate host defense, barrier function, and resistance to necrotic enteritis and coccidiosis was investigated.

      • Clostridium perfringens
      • Bacterial pathogens
  8. Biofilm and Spore Formation of Clostridium perfringens and Its Resistance to Disinfectant and Oxidative Stress

    • Antibiotics
    • Clostridium perfringens is a major human pathogen that causes gastroenteritis via enterotoxin production and has the ability to form spores and biofilms for environmental persistence and disease transmission. This study aimed to compare the disinfectant and environmental resistance properties of C. perfringens vegetative cells and spores in planktonic and sessile conditions, and to examine the nucleotide polymorphisms and transcription under sessile conditions in C.

      • Clostridium perfringens
      • Bacterial pathogens
  9. A Putative Amidase Endolysin Encoded by Clostridium perfringens St13 Exhibits Specific Lytic Activity and Synergizes with the Muramidase Endolysin Psm

    • Antibiotics
    • Clostridium perfringens is an often-harmful intestinal bacterium that causes various diseases ranging from food poisoning to life-threatening fulminant disease. Potential treatments include phage-derived endolysins, a promising family of alternative antimicrobial agents. We surveyed the genome of the C. perfringens st13 strain and identified an endolysin gene, psa, in the phage remnant region.

      • Clostridium perfringens
      • Bacterial pathogens
  10. The Spectrum of Antimicrobial Activity of Cyadox against Pathogens Collected from Pigs, Chicken, and Fish in China

    • Antibiotics
    • Cyadox has potential use as an antimicrobial agent in animals. However, its pharmacodynamic properties have not been systematically studied yet. In this study, the in vitro antibacterial activities of cyadox were assayed, and the antibacterial efficacy of cyadox against facultative anaerobes was also determined under anaerobic conditions.

      • Clostridium perfringens
      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Campylobacter
      • Salmonella
      • Yersinia
      • Vibrio
  11. Evaluation and Optimization of Antibiotics Resistance Profile against Clostridium perfringens from Buffalo and Cattle in Pakistan

    • Antibiotics
    • Clostridium perfringens is a serious threat to successful bovine farming. It causes severe damage to the buffalo and cattle health causing a drastic reduction in milk and meat production. In Pakistan, C. perfringens is a constant threat, and for its management, antibiotics are mostly used. Most bovine farmers use a single antibiotic to suppress the bacterial infection which in turn, increases the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) against the particular antibiotic.

      • Clostridium perfringens
      • Bacterial pathogens
  12. Thermophile Lytic Enzyme Fusion Proteins that Target Clostridium perfringens

    • Antibiotics
    • Clostridium perfringens is a bacterial pathogen that causes necrotic enteritis in poultry and livestock, and is a source of food poisoning and gas gangrene in humans. As the agriculture industry eliminates the use of antibiotics in animal feed, alternatives to antibiotics will be needed. Bacteriophage endolysins are enzymes used by the virus to burst their bacterial host, releasing bacteriophage particles. This type of enzyme represents a potential replacement for antibiotics controlling C.

      • Bacterial pathogens
      • Clostridium perfringens