Bacteriological quality assessment of ice cream sold in selected eateries within Kaduna metropolis

Ice cream is a frozen dairy product. Ice cream has an outstanding nutritional quality, but is also an excellent medium for bacteria growth. The study was conducted to evaluate the bacteriological quality of ice creams sold in selected eateries within Kaduna Metropolis. Fifteen (15) samples of ice cream were examined for proximate and bacteriological quality. The proximate analysis were determined for vanilla, strawberry and banana ice cream. Total viable count and coliform count were carried out on the ice cream samples using the pour plate technique, the samples were analysed by culturing on Nutrient, MacConkey and Salmonella-Shigella Agar media. Gram staining and biochemical test were carried to identify the organisms. The antibiogram of the selected antibiotics were evaluated against the organisms isolated. The proximate composition of moisture content was high in sample Y with 51.02%; Z sample had the highest ash content with 1.77%; sample Y and Z were both high in protein content with 7.41%. Sample X had a high crude fat content with 10.22%, sample Y was high in crude fibre content with 0.26% and sample Z was high in carbohydrate content with 30.28%. The total viable count ranged from 2.2x105to 24.7x105CFU/mL. The selected eatery from M site had the highest total viable count of bacteria while D had the lowest total viable count. The ice cream samples were contaminated with E. coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella and Shigella species. E. coli and Staphylococcus areus which were observed in all the samples obtained from the sampling sites. The S. aureus was resistant to Spectinomycin at 10μg concentration. E. Coli and Klebsiella were more susceptible to the antibiotics used at different concentration. Pefloxacin, Gentamicin and Ciprofloxacin were observed to be the more potent antibiotics at 10μg concentration. The presence of the bacteria isolate lack proper hygienic conditions during preparation, preservation or serving of ice cream. These results suggest that consumption of these ice creams might cause GI disturbances, stomach abscess, diarrhoea and other diseases. The presence of potential pathogens in the ice cream samples revealed the significance of implementation of quality control measures in productive, storage and marketing ice creams thus reducing the public health hazards

Phylogenetics of aflatoxigenic moulds and prevalence of aflatoxin from in-process wheat and flour from selected major stores within northern Nigeria

Aflatoxigenic strains that produce aflatoxins may be similar morphologically but vary genetically. Sequenced aflR-1 gene from this work was used to study relatedness of aflatoxigenic strains. Yeast extract sucrose agar (YESA) supplemented with 0.3% cyclodextrin and 0.6 % sodium Desoxycholate (YCSD) was used to characterize aflatoxigenic moulds. Total aflatoxin content of the samples was determined using Enzyme Link immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Multiplex PCR was carried out on aflatoxigenic and some non aflatoxigenic moulds using the genes; aflR-1, omt-A, ver-1 and nor-1. The aflR-1 PCR products were sequenced and used for Basic Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) and to generate dendogram. While the raw wheat samples presented highest total aflatoxin range 0.6 – 49 μg/kg, major stores presented values of 0.50 – 28 μg/kg, higher than that obtained in-process samples (0.70 – 26 μg/kg). However, there was no significant differences (p≥0.05) between the major store total aflatoxin levels and that of in-process samples. Thirty seven (37 %) and 25 % of the wheat flour samples from in-process and major stores respectively exceeded the 10 μg/kg National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Nigeria (NAFDAC) recommended limit for this product. Thirty six (36 %) and 21 % prevalence of wheat and wheat flour samples respectively analyzed from this work was contaminated with total aflatoxins. The multiplex PCR response from this work has demonstrated that there was consistency in the banding pattern of aflatoxigenic strains with respect to the major aflatoxin biosynthetic genes from this study. BLAST of the assembled AFL2T gene sequences was found to have compatibility with that of standard aflR-1 of NCBI Gene Bank that also created way of identifying the isolates. The bootstrap similarity matrix differentiated the isolates into two major clusters; sub-group and others assembled together indicating closer relatedness or general similarity. Some of the isolates varied greatly with visible mixtures of aflatoxigenic and non aflatoxigenic moulds and also random distribution of in-process and store isolates at different leaf nodes within the major clusters. Awareness and surveillance of aflatoxin levels by processors and regulatory bodies at raw material intake is advocated.Keywords: Moulds, Aflatoxin, Gene, Dendogra

Antibacterial activities of ethanol leaf and bark extracts of Terminalia avicennioides against methicillin resistant Staphyloccocus aureus

The study was undertaken with the aim to determine the Antibacterial activities of ethanol leaf and bark extracts of Terminalia avicennioides against Methicillin resistant Staphyloccocus aureus (MRSA). Air-dried leaves and barks of Terminalia avicennioides, were powdered and each extracted with 70% ethanol by cold maceration method. Each extract was screened for the presence of some secondary metabolites using qualitative methods. MRSA clinical isolates from infected wounds of patients were reconfirmed using standard microbiological methods. The antibacterial activities of extracts against bacteria were determined by agar well diffusion and broth dilution methods. The results of phytochemical screening of extracts revealed the presence of carbohydrates, alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, triterpens, glycosides and phenols. All the extracts exhibited significant inhibitory effects (P < 0.05) against isolates of bacteria at varied concentrations of 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 and 6.25mg/mL and the activity of each extract was found to be concentration dependent. The mean zone of inhibition of the leaf extract against bacteria ranged between 12.52 ± 1.86 mm -17.12 ± 1.89 mm while the mean zone of inhibition of the bark extract ranged between 10.26 ± 1.37 mm - 14.45 ± 1.47 mm. The leaf extract was more effective with MIC and MBC of 6.25mg/mL and 25mg/mL. The results of this study show that the leaf and bark extracts of T. avicennioides contain compounds with antibacterial activities against MRSA which provide basis for further studies to isolate, identify and standardize the active compounds for drug developmen

Multidrug resistance by microorganisms: a review

Multiple drug resistance (MDR) is the ability of some microorganisms to resist the actions of multiple antimicrobial agents. MDR include those resistant to multiple antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-parasitic drugs. Similar activities of some microorganisms to certain chemical (drug) that would normally kill them or limit their growth is called antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Multi drug resistance can be classified as primary resistance, secondary resistance, intrinsic resistance, extensive resistance and clinical resistance. The classes of antibiotics that fall victim of resistance include beta-lactams, glycopeptide, aminoglycosides, sulphonamides, cephalosporins etc. The mode of action of antimicrobial drug includes cell wall synthesis inhibitors, protein synthesis inhibitor, blockage of key metabolic pathways, nucleic acid synthesis inhibitors etc. Bacteria often become resistant and this could be through one of several biochemical mechanisms such as mutation, destruction or inactivation and efflux or genetic transfer of materials between bacteria by several means such as conjugation, transformation and transduction. The mode of action of MDR protozoa occurs through decrease of drug uptake, the export of drugs from the parasite by P-glycoproteins and other traffic ATPases etc. The mode of action of MDR helminths occurs through genetic changes in the drug target, changes in drug transport, drug metabolism etc. The mode of action of antiviral drugs usually target viral DNA polymerase having the reverse transcriptase activity to inhibit the viral replication. The mode of action of MDR fungi occurs as they have learnt to modify the antifungal drug targets or most commonly increase the efflux of the incoming drugs There are various ways to reverse this resistance such as washing hands after seeing each patient, the public should wash raw fruit and vegetables thoroughly to clear off both resistant bacteria and possible antibiotic residues, avoid the misuse of antibiotics, etc

Occurrence of Escherichia coli and Salmonella species in Some Livestock (Poultry) Feeds in Mando, Kaduna, Nigeria

The study aimed at assessing the proximate composition, isolation, characterization of some Enterobacteriaceae from two (2) brands of poultry feeds marketed in Mando, Kaduna, Nigeria. A total of sixteen (16) samples of two (2) different poultry feeds (starter and finisher) from four (4) poultry farms in mando were collected and subjected to proximate and microbiological analysis. The proximate analysis was carried out using standard techniques and procedures. All the feed samples were cultured on separate media which include Eosin methylene blue (EMB), nutrient Agar (NA) and Salmonella-Shigella Agar (SSA) media using standard procedures. The antibiogram of the selected antibiotics was evaluated against the test isolates. The result of proximate analysis of the starter and finisher feeds indicated that the Dry matter of starter feed had the highest percentage composition of 95.02% and crude fiber of the finisher feed had the lowest composition of 3.78%. The highest number of bacterial load was recorded to be 10.0×104 CFU/g for the feed sample A (starter feed) and 12.0x104CFU/g was recorded for the feed sample B (finisher feed) which had the highest number of bacterial load recorded among the two (2) different poultry feeds analyzed. The bacteria isolates were identified as Salmonella species and Escherichia coli. Total viable count (TVC) of Salmonella species and E. coli in the feed samples (starter and finisher) ranges from 3.0×104CFU/g to 12.0×104CFU/g. Both organisms (Salmonella species, E. coli) were found as 37.5% and 25% of the analyzed feeds (Broiler starter and broiler finisher) samples, respectively. There was no level of significant (p>0.05) difference between the level of contamination of Salmonella species and E. coli in the two different feeds analyzed, as p=0.06 and p=0.13 for Salmonella species, and E. coli respectively. Sample A and B (Starter and Finisher) feeds had the highest number of Salmonella species occurrence with six ( 6) positive samples while E. coli was recorded in four (4) samples of A and B (Starter and Finisher) feeds. The result of the antibiogram indicated that ciprofloxacin (30 µg), Gentamycin (30µg), Perfloxacin (30µg) and Tarvid (30µg) was effective against Salmonella species and Escherichia coli. The significant of spread of the species of the Enterobacteriaceae in livestock feeds requires the need for effective quality assurance and control, good hygiene practices in production and proper handling of the poultry feeds