Abstract
In this study, the effect of environmental organic pollutants (detergents) on bacterial growth was investigated. Five different strains which may become routes of infection (i.e. food poisoning) were used : Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter cloacae, Salmonella choleraesuis and Escherichia coli. The compounds tested in this study were sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), deoxycholic acid sodium salt monohydrate (DESO), sodium undecanesulfate (SUDS), p-n-nonylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (SNBS), 17β-estradiol, 4-nonylphenol and bisphenol A. In the case of S. aureus, no significant differences in growth rates could be observed with and without the compounds at 1 mg/l concentration in the growth medium, although the growth rate for 4-nonylphenol were higher than that of the control. All other strains exhibited higher growth rates than the controls for all the compounds tested. On the other hand, B. cereus only showed a longer lag phase in case of 4-nonylphenol addition.
