Hello,
to save time and money, I want to create a protein and sucrose based food jelly for my ants I keep as hobby, the species include Messor structor, Diacamma rugosum and Pheidole megacephala, but that is not the point. Which d-glucose concentration is needed to provide a concentration gradient high enough to inhibit any microbial cell growth. Poorly I can’t find any general research on this topic. I is very important to inhibit bacterial und fungal growth, or else poisonous substances may be created by these organisms and may harm my ants.
thanks very much, but that is what I was looking for, I wanted to know what the minimum sugar concentration is that completely prohibits microbial growth due to the concentration gradient between the hypertonic sugar solution and the cell plasma
In a study to determine sugar con. In jam products showed variable results ranging from 20_60 percent. I suggest adding benzoic acid as a preservative
Did you mean to ask re. Sucrose or Glucose? In solution, neither will completely eliminate risk of microbial growth. Neither at saturation (~67% and 50% resp) establishes Aw prohibitive of microbial growth (generally < 0.7). That said, they will discourage some groups and slow growth of the few that can spoil.
Phil Geis l meant d-glucose which is commonly known as Dextrose, because the ants may not be able to digest l-glucose very well. I wanted to know the concentration at which the glucose concentration is high enough to soak water out of the bacteria becausw of the osmotic pressure, so that they cannot stay viable in it, like in honey. Of course the spores will survive but they won‘t be able to actively devide or such.
Andre - that just what I communicated. "Soak the water out.." to eliminate vitality is inaccurate. Control of available water near term is primarily bacterio/fungi-static not cidal for vegetative cells and spores. Over enough time, it will be more cidal. Honey (glucose and fructose, both ~ 30-35%) is not sterile and includes both spore-forming bacteria and fungi as well as those that do not form spores. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ahs/article/view/7009/58269
Benzoic acid as preservative will be helpful. Also, a reduced water activity.
@Fidelis Ifeanychukwu Onianwah Thanks, probably I should try using benzoic acid, I just wondered what preservative is used in those so called food jellies or beetle jellies. I am just afraid that it might harm my Diacamma rugosum
Phil Geis, yes, my Diacamma rugosum at least feed mostly on the store bought protein jelly, of course I also feed a pre-killed adult Acheta domesticus (I dont know how they are called in English) every two weeks, which seems to be enough for them, I permanently have about 20-30 pupae in their nest. Actually they don´t really seem to hunt anything other than tropical Collembola which they seem to hunt and breed themselves, I don´t really know why they do this. They also don´t hunt Tenebrio melitor or Paraplecta parve. To say it shortly, they don´t really hunt anything, they rather feed on pre-killed animals and protein jelly.
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