Studies on Streptococcus faecalis enterotoxin

Streptococcus faecalis has been reported to cause food poisoning. Six strains of S. faecalis were tested for Sherman's criteria. These strains were non-hemolytic, DNase+ and Ent+. The enterotoxin was purified on Sephadex G-200 column and maximum activity was observed at 37 C and pH 7.0. Enterotoxin treated with trypsin and papain elicited very poor response to fluid accumulation. The sensitivity of all the strains against different antibiotics was determined. Strain 53 M was treated with acridine orange and ethidium bromide and a total of 44 Amps Strr and 3 Amps Strs mutants were tested for toxin production. Out of these only 4 were toxin negative, amongst which 3 were also DNase negative and 1 showed partial DNase activity.