Vol. 10, Issue 9 (2021)

Author(s):
Shreya Dubey, Nidhi Sharma, Sonali Thakur, Renuka Patel and Boreddy Manoj Reddy

Abstract:
Bacillus cereus is one of food-borne disease causing bacteria. Bacillus spores may be present on various types of raw and cooked foods and their ability to survive high cooking temperatures requires that cooked foods be served hot or cooled rapidly to prevent the growth of this bacteria. Bacillus cereus is well known as a cause of food poisoning and much more is now known about the toxins produced by various strains of this species. Bacillus cereus is widespread in nature and frequently isolated from soil and growing plants, but it is also well adapted for growth in the intestinal tract of insects and mammals. From these habitats it is easily spread to foods, where it may cause an emetic or a diarrhoeal type of food-associated illness that is becoming increasingly important in the industrialized world. The emetic disease is a food intoxication caused by cereulide, a small ring-formed dodecadepsipeptide. The genetic determinants of cereulide are plasmid-borne. The diarrhoeal syndrome of B. cereus is an infection caused by vegetative cells, ingested as viable cells or spores, thought to produce protein enterotoxins in the small intestine. These are cytotoxins, have been associated with diarrhoeal disease are haemolysin BL, nonhaemolytic enterotoxin and cytotoxin K. This review will focus on the toxins associated with foodborne diseases frequently caused by B. cereus.