486. The action of the lecithinase of Bacillus cereus on the globule membrane of milk fat

Abstract

An effect simulating broken cream in whole milk was produced when Bacillus cereus was grown in washed cream at 22° C. A similar but less marked effect was obtained when a concentrated culture filtrate of B. cereus was added to washed cream.Microscopic examination of washed cream to which B. cereus or its concentrated filtrate had been added showed that the fat-globule membranes had been broken down. The hydrolysis of lecithin in washed cream in which B. cereus had grown was demonstrated by qualitative estimation of free choline.Since these results could not be reproduced when a non-lecithinase-producing strain of B. cereus or its concentrated culture filtrate was added to washed cream, it appears that the hydrolysis of the lecithin of the fat-globule membrane is at least partly responsible for the formation of broken cream.