Fluted pumpkin ( Telfairia occidentalis ) is a minimally-processed
green leafy vegetable traditionally used for its antianaemic properties
in the form of leaf juice without a heating or inactivation step before
consumption. The aim of the study was to assess the presence of surface
microbiota on T. occidentalis leaves and also to determine the
antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated organisms. Bacterial
contaminants on 50 samples of T. occidentalis leaves were isolated and
characterized using standard biochemical methods and the antimicrobial
susceptibility of isolated organisms was determined using the
antibiotic disc diffusion assay. The results obtained show that the
leaves of T. occidentalis is contaminated with organisms which included
Enterobacter agglomerans (25.9%), Proteus vulgaris (24.9%),
Klebsiella spp. (2.6%), and Serratia liquefaciens (2.1%). Other
bacterial isolates recovered in order of frequency included:
Staphylococcus spp. (33.7%), Bacillus spp. (8.3%), and Pseudomonas
fluorescens (2.6%). Of the 193 bacterial isolates from the leaves of
T. occidentalis samples tested for antimicrobial resistance, all (100%)
were found to be resistant to ampicillin, cloxacillin, augmentin,
erythromycin, and tetracycline while 96% of the isolates were resistant
to cephalothin. Resistance to trimethoprim (93%) and gentamicin (83%)
was also observed. Approximately, 22% of the isolates were resistant to
ciprofloxacin; however, only 11 (5.8%) were resistant to ofloxacin.
Thus, uncooked T. occidentalis is a potential source of
highly-resistant epiphytic bacteria which could be opportunistic
pathogens in consumers