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Pulsed Electric Fields as an Effective Tool for Toxoplasma gondii Inactivation
Vanesa Abad1, Daniel Berdejo2, Juan Manuel Martínez1
1Departamento de Producción Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos, Tecnología de los Alimentos, Facultad de Veterinaria, Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón, IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
Foods (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 4, 2026
Summary
Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology significantly reduces the infectivity of *Toxoplasma gondii* oocysts and bradyzoites. This non-thermal method shows promise for inactivating the parasite in food and water sources.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Parasitology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Toxoplasma gondii is a foodborne protozoan parasite.
- Oocysts and bradyzoites are resistant forms responsible for transmission.
- Current inactivation methods may affect food quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology for inactivating *Toxoplasma gondii*.
- To assess PEF efficacy on both oocysts and bradyzoites.
- To explore PEF as a non-thermal food safety strategy.
Main Methods:
- PEF treatment of *T. gondii* ME-49 strain oocysts and bradyzoites.
- In vivo mouse bioassays with qPCR and indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) for infectivity assessment.
- In vitro cell culture assays (Hs27 cells) for preliminary viability testing.
Main Results:
- PEF treatment significantly reduced oocyst infectivity, increasing the infectious dose (ID50) from 34.6 to 85.3 oocysts.
- PEF inactivated bradyzoites in meat, reducing infectivity by 50%.
- In vitro assays correlated well with in vivo results, suggesting their utility for viability assessment.
Conclusions:
- PEF technology demonstrates significant potential for inactivating *Toxoplasma gondii*.
- This study provides the first evidence of *T. gondii* inactivation using PEF.
- PEF offers a promising non-thermal processing alternative for food safety, requiring further optimization.
