Table 2 Bacteriophages as bio-control agents against food-borne (food products and food contact surface) pathogens
From: Combating antibiotic resistance in a one health context: a plethora of frontiers
Phages | Product tested | Methodology | Out-turn | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BEC8 cocktail (38, 39, 41, CEV2, AR1, 42, ECA1, and ECB7). | Spinach leaves and romaine lettuce. | Following a one-hour drying period in a biosafety enclosure, the leaves were spot-inoculated with bacteria. On top of the previously inoculated leaf, BEC8, Trans-cinnamaldehyde, or TSB was administered. Without dehydrating the bacterial inoculum, positive controls were generated by combining it with BEC8 or TC | Cell counts were reduced by both BEC8 and Trans-cinnamaldehyde at the various MOIs and temperatures. The effect of the BEC8 cocktail on both liquid and desiccated cells was identical. An augmentation of the antimicrobial effect was observed upon the combination of both agents | [91] |
A cocktail composed by the phages e11/2 and e4/1c | Cattle hide | The phage cocktail was introduced into the organism using a portable spray container. Negative control: An absence of wash treatment was observed | After one hour of application to the cattle hide, phage cocktail demonstrated enhanced efficacy. The degree of bacterial eradication was equivalent to that obtained by washing the sample with water alone, when the sampling was conducted immediately following phage application | [92] |
BEC8 cocktail | Sterilized hard surfaces (stainless steel chips, ceramic tile chips, and high-density polyethylene chips - HDPEC). | The semiconductor was spot-treated with bacteria before being dried in a biosafety cabinet. Prior to inoculation, the chip surface was treated with BEC8 or TSB. MOIs of 1, 10, and 100 were utilised. To generate positive controls, the bacterial inoculum was combined with BEC8 or TC without the process of dehydrating | Phage cocktail exhibited superior performance rating in inactivating the bacterial mixture across a range of conditions, including low to high MOIs, low to high temperatures, and shorter to extended periods of exposure. Both under arid and liquid conditions, bacterial levels could be regulated by phages. Phage-insensitive variants were not identified | [93] |
Cocktail compose by phages DT1 to DT6 | Milk and meat | Sterile, commercially available milk that had been reconstituted with CaCl2 was used to inoculate one bacterial strain per batch. One portion of each batch was subjected to a phage cocktail, while the other was set aside as a control. 0.4 cm thick, 1 cm2 portions of meat were spot-treated with bacterial strains and left to adhere for 10 minutes at room temperature. Following this, a phage cocktail was introduced into every meat piece. To establish controls, TMG buffer was added | Phage cocktail could detectably reduce the quantity of various E. coli isolates tested at 4 °C. A decrease in value was observed at higher temperatures (25 and 37 °C), but it persisted only during the initial hours of incubation. Phage cocktails induce greater E. coli reduction in meat at elevated temperatures | [94] |
FAHEc1 | UHT milk; Ready-to-eat meat; Raw beef | Before being applied to food products, phage FAHEc1 was exposed to ultraviolet radiation; phages are capable of lysing bacterial cells, even if they lose viability. Phages and E. coli O157:H7 were utilised to inoculate UHT milk. Inoculating raw beef at 37 °C simulated phage application immediately prior to slathering in carcasses | A decline in cell count was observed exclusively with an increased phage concentration, encompassing both UV-treated and untreated phages. Untreated phages generally produce superior outcomes in milk. Consistency in observations was maintained for the control in RTE meat. The utilisation of UV-treated phages resulted in a more pronounced reduction of the host in uncooked beef | [95] |
phiEco1, phiEco2, phiEco3, phiEco5, phiEco6 and phiS1 | Oyster | At 37 °C, bacteria that had been grown overnight were introduced to the oysters and allowed to adhere for one hour. After adding phage suspension, the oyster meat was incubated at 3 °C for two days, followed by two hours at 37 °C | Attenuating all bacterial genotypes is possible with a high concentration of phages. When bacteria are present singly or in combination, a reduction is observed | [96] |
Phages phiJLA23, phiKP26, phiC119 and phiE142 | Tomatoes | A mixture of phages comprising 109 PFU/mL of each phage. In addition, microencapsulated phages were generated by combining a polymer mixture comprising 30% phage cocktail, 60% SM Buffer, and 10% solids (modified starch and maltodextrin). The tomato plants were categorised into three groups: the first group received E. coli O157:H7 inoculation, the second group received a microencapsulated cocktail phage inoculated with the bacterial host, and the third group served as a control without any inoculation | The concentrations of E. coli O157:H7 in tomatoes encapsulated with microencapsulated phages were substantially reduced after 24 hours at 4 °C, in comparison to the control group that did not receive the phage cocktail. The observed differences persisted for a duration of five days. Free phages are less stable in the presence of stress factors than microencapsulated phages | [97] |
AKH-2 | Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Apostichopus japonicas (Sea cucumber) Oreochromis niloticus (Nila tilapia) | Loach immersed against Aeromonas hydrophilia | Phage-treated loach exhibited a higher survival rate | [98] |
PVS-1, and PVS-2, PVS-3 | Individual phage or cocktail supplementation of the diet to combat Vibrio splendidus | In contrast to the single phage and control groups, the phage cocktail-treated group exhibited an 82% survival rate | [99] | |
HN48 | Containment of Streptococcus agalactiae by means of phage preparation introduced to the tank | 60% greater survival rate than the control group | [100] |