Anderson Robin C, Jung Yong Soo, Genovese Kenneth J, McReynolds Jackson L, Callaway Todd R, Edrington Thomas S, Harvey Roger B, Nisbet David J
Food and Feed Safety Research Unit, Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, USDA-ARS, College Station, Texas 77845, USA.
Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2006 Winter;3(4):461-5. doi: 10.1089/fpd.2006.3.461.
An experimental chlorate product that targets the respiratory nitrate reductase enzyme of bacteria such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli has shown promising results in reducing concentrations of these bacteria in the gut of food animals. Because expression of the target enzyme is induced by nitrate, we administered short-duration, low level nitrate or nitroethane preconditioning treatments to finishing swine to see if these would enhance the ability of an experimental chlorate product to kill these bacteria. Results from these studies showed that preconditioning the gut microflora of swine with low levels of nitrate or nitrocompounds enhanced (more than tenfold) the ability of the chlorate product to kill Salmonella and E. coli, but not Campylobacter. Further studies are needed before these compounds can be fed as feed additives to animals, although it is likely that nitrate preconditioning may be more near to market than the nitrocompounds, which may require more comprehensive review by regulatory authorities.
