본 연구는 들깻잎과 들깻잎 생산환경을 대상으로 31개의 시료를 채취하여 S. aureus 를 분리 하였다. 분리된 S. aureus 31주의 toxicity를 평가하고자 독소유전자와 항생제 내성을 검색하였다. 그 결과 분리된 균주에서 4개의 서로다른 독소유전자 패턴은 확인하였으며 sea와 sed유전자를 동시에 보유하는 균주는 4균주 (12.9%)였고, sed 유전자를 보유하는 균주는 9균주 (29.0%)였으며 see 유전자를 보유 하는 균주는 1균주 (3.2%)였다. 한편 seb와 sec 유전자를 보유하는 균주는 없었다. 항생제 내성평가결과, 12제의 항생제(penicillin, ampicillin, oxacillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefazolin, cephalothin, imipenem, gentamicin, tetracycline, ofloxacin, norfloxacin, and erythromycin)에 내성을 보인 균주는 7균주 (22.6%)였다. 또한 분리된 균주의 2균주 (2.6%)는 5제의 항생제(penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin- clavulanic acid, gentamycin, and telithromycin)에 내성을 보였고 MRSA (Methicilline Resistant Staphylococcus aureus)는 포장지, 장갑, 들깻잎에서 발견되었다. 따라서 본 연구결과는 들깻잎에 오염된 S. aureus에 의하여 독소형식중독이 발생할 가능성을 시사하며 들깻잎과 생산 환경에서 항생제 저항성 S. aureus가 검출되어 의약계뿐만 아니라 농업현장에서도 항생제내성균주 출현을 예방하는 대책이 요구된다.

Rice can be the contaminating with soil-borne bacteria. Furthermore, the contaminated bacteria can be grown during immersion process for produce wet-milled rice flour. Therefore, disinfectants can be added during the immersion process. Antibacterial activities of the natural disinfectant, fermented rice spent water (FRSW), and the chemical disinfectants, chlorine dioxide (CD) and sodium benzoate (SB), were respectively determined when added in pure cultures of target bacteria such as Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus or when added to immersion water in the immersion process. In addition, rinsing effects for removing bacteria were determined when rice was rinsed with water before and after the immersion process. Antibacterial activities were rapidly increased as increasing amounts of the disinfectants are added to the pure cultures of the target bacteria. Antibacterial activity of CD was the most effective among the three tested disinfectants when added to the pure cultures of the target bacteria, respectively. Those of the same disinfectants were increased when they were increasingly added to the immersion water. However those of the disinfectants were less effective when added to the immersion water. On the other hand, rinsing effects for removing bacteria were the most effective when rice was rinsed only with water without the immersion process. Collectively, rinsing rice with water only was more effective than using disinfectants in the immersion water during rice flour production.