Anais do Congresso Paranaense de Microbiologia
Anais do III Congresso Paranaense de Microbiologia

Despite the recent advances in the area of food safety, food-borne diseases are still present due to the ingestion of food contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Much of this contamination occurs through the formation of bacterial biofilms on abiotic (equipment) and biotic (food) surfaces. The genus Enterococcus has been related to virulence potential and biofilm builder. In view of this, the objective of this study was to evaluate the biofilm formation capacity of Enterococcus sp. isolated from foods of plant origin. For this, 85 isolates of Enterococcus sp. of foods of vegetal origin, among them leaves, vegetables and roots characterized. The biofilm formation capacity was verified, in vitro, by the total biomass method in polystyrene plate in Brain Heart Infusion broth with cell density of the isolates adjusted to 1.5 x 108 CFU / mL and incubated for 24 h at 37° C. As negative control, the BHI culture medium without bacterium was deposited. The plate was taken to the plate spectrophotometer at wavelength of 540nm. Each test was performed in triplicate in two replicates, and the isolates were classified as weak, moderate and strong biofilm forming. The results showed that 100% of the isolates showed some level of biofilm formation. 27% of the isolates were classified as poorly biofilm forming, 60% moderate and 13% strong. The isolates that produced moderate and strong biofilms represented 73% of the total isolates evaluated for biofilm formation. In the three groups of vegetables, the isolates with moderate biofilm production capacity were predominant, being 63% for leafy vegetables, 58% for vegetables and 56% for roots. Contamination of plants by bacteria can be from water, fertilizers, soil, or directly exposed in roots, in hydroponic growth. The finding of Enterococcus with biofilm formation capacity in fresh food can be considered as a first step for the contamination and the transmission of antimicrobial resistance isolates, being a risk to public health.