Routine limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) test for endotoxin determination in milk using a Toxinometer ET-201

A rapid method of performing the Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) test in milk is proposed using the Toxinometer ET-201. This instrument measured the increase in turbidity due to the interaction between the endotoxins of the Gram-negative bacteria and the LAL reagent, monitored the ratio Rt of the sequential to the initial transmission at 12 s intervals and quantified endotoxins by determination of the reaction time Tr required to obtain a 5% decrease in Rt. There was a good correlation between the toxinometrically determined endotoxin concentrations and the number of Gram-negative bacteria (SD, 0.18 log(plate count units)), and the repeatability (CV, 6-10%) was high. The assay may be useful for screening raw materials for UHT milk production, as the endotoxin content of the raw material is related to the rest proteinase activity in the UHT milk.