The biochemical tests used to identify enterococci species was Purple Broth Base (Difco, Detroit, USA) supplemented with arabinos, MGP (Metil-[alpha]-Dglycopiranoside), arginine, mannitol, sorbitol,
sorbose and raffinose.
These carbohydrates include glucose, mannose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, fructose,
sorbose, lactose, sucrose, cellobiose, cellotriose, and raffinose.
In the most common process, glucose is treated with hydrogen at high pressure to convert it to sorbitol, which is then fermented with the bacteria Acetobacter xylinum to yield
sorbose. A series of chemical reactions then converts
sorbose to vitamin C.
On the basis of this hypothesis, I anticipated that L-sorbose might mimic the antiglycolytic activity of L-GA, through cellular conversion to sorbose-l-phosphate, but
sorbose was not effective at concentrations similar to those of n,L-GA that were effective in preserving glucose concentrations.
Once a Gram-positive, catalase-negative coccus has been identified as an enterococcus, the genus can be split into four groups based on acid production in mannitol, sorbitol,
sorbose, and arginine hydrolysis.
A positive correlation was observed by H5 and H8, linking protease production with their abilities to utilize arabinose, ribose, xylose,
sorbose, mannitol, mannoside, starch, glycogen, and fucose (P < 0.05).