Chemical test for mammalian feces in ground black pepper: collaborative study

A collaborative study for determining mammalian feces in ground black pepper was conducted, using a modified version of the AOAC Official Method 986.28 for mammalian feces in grain products. With the proposed method, the presence of alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme found in mammalian feces, was determined by using phenolphthalein diphosphate as the enzyme substrate in a test agar medium containing 1% agar in a borate buffer, pH 9.5. Ground black pepper was stirred in water to extract interfering color. The mixture was filtered and the residue was scattered on plates of liquid test agar. The alkaline phosphatase cleaved phosphate radicals from phenolphthalein diphosphate, generating free phenolphthalein, which appeared as pink to red-purple around the fecal particles in the previously colorless medium. For the 10- and 20-particle spike level, collaborators recovered averages of 12.3 and 24.1 particles, respectively. The experimental background was zero. Collaborators reported that the method was clear and easy to perform.