Figure 3
From: Impact of tissue processing on microbiological colonization in the context of placentophagy
Standardized model for artificial placenta inoculation. Surface inoculation: 5 ml of GBS or E. coli suspension (total 105 CFU each) were manually rubbed onto placenta surface (maternal and fetal side), then the placenta left covered for 30 min. Control eSwabs from the maternal and fetal side of the inoculated placenta were taken. Injection inoculation: 5 ml of GBS or E. coli suspension (total 105 CFU each) were injected into the intervillous space: 1 ml was injected at five evenly spread places of the placenta piece. As the placenta was inoculated through injection, no surface swabs were taken. Note: unlike the placentas obtained in the clinical arm of the study, inoculated placentas were not rinsed under cold running water. The inoculated pieces were then further processed as described in detail in our earlier publication5: one third was homogenized for analysis of raw tissue. Another third was dehydrated for 8 h at 55 °C. The last third was steamed for at least 10 min until the core temperature was above 70 °C, a small piece for analysis excised and afterwards dehydrated for 8 h at 55 °C.
