Direct Electric Current Method for Eradication of Slightly Halophilic Bacillus Species Isolated from Salted Hides

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SANDIKCI F. B., YILMAZ P., BİRBİR M., YALÇIN D., BERBER D., BİRBİR Y.

JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF LEATHER TECHNOLOGIES AND CHEMISTS, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

Özet

Raw animal skin/hide samples are salted and stored for long periods of time when they cannot be used immediately after skinning process. Salting prevents the growth of bacteria on hides by making the environment unfavorable for enzymatic activities. This method is suitable for non-salt tolerant micro-organisms. However, halophilic bacteria, which are require salt, grow under these conditions, resulting in damage to the skin structure and reducing skin quality. Considering this situation, in our study, each slightly halophilic bacterial strain, isolated from salted sheepskins, and their mixed cultures prepared from these isolates (TKD1a-Bacillus haynesii, TKD1b-Bacillus rugosus, TKD2aBacillus safensis, TKD7b-Bacillus aerius, TKD9a-Bacillus kochii) were treated with 2.3 A direct electric current (DC) in the presence of 5% NaCl. It was determined that TKD9a-Bacillus kochii was killed completely in 21 minutes, TKD1a-Bacillus haynesii, TKD1b-Bacillus rugosus, TKD2a-Bacillus safensis, TKD7b-Bacillus aerius and the mixed culture of these five bacteria were killed completely in 24 minutes. While the temperature of all test media was 24℃ before the experiment, it increased in TKD1b-Bacillus rugosus and TKD9a-Bacillus kochii test media after 1 minute of the DC application. The pH value of the medium increased from 6.7 to 7.7 due to application of the DC. The voltage levels of the test medium varied according to the duration of the DC application and the bacterial species. As a result, it was determined that DC application can be a method for controlling slightly halophilic bacterial strains used in our study.