@article{ajmr2015333,
author={{O., Dada E. and O., Olusola-Makinde O.},
title={Microbial and Parasitic Contamination on Vegetables Collected From Retailers in Main Market, Akure, Nigeria},
journal={American Journal of Microbiological Research},
volume={3},
number={3},
pages={112--117},
year={2015},
url={http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajmr/3/3/3},
issn={2328-4137},
abstract={Laboratory investigations were carried out on six different vegetable samples; <i>Amaranthus</i><i> </i><i>cruentus</i><i> </i>(Amaranth), <i>Talinum</i><i> </i><i>triangulare</i><i> </i>(Waterleaf)<i>, Solanecio</i><i> </i><i>biafrae</i> (Worowo)<i>, Brassica olerecea</i> (Cabbage), <i>Lactuca sativa</i> (Lettuce) and <i>Daucus</i><i> </i><i>carota</i> (Carrot) purchased from retailers in main market, Akure, Nigeria to determine the microbial and parasitic contamination. One part of each sample was washed with distilled water while the other part was washed with physiological saline. For parasitological analysis, the solutions were centrifuged, decanted and viewed under the microscope while culturing was done for microbial analysis using the pour plate technique. Only<i> L. sativa </i>was contaminated with helminth<i>; Ascaris</i><i> </i><i>lumbricoides</i>. All samples were found to be populated with various species of microorganisms. Seven bacteria belonging to different genera and six fungi were isolated randomly and identified from the vegetables. Bacteria include <i>Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichi</i><i>a coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,</i><i> Serratia</i><i> </i><i>marcescens, Salmonella typii</i><i> </i>and <i>Proteus vulgaris</i><i> </i>while fungi are <i>Aspergillus</i><i> </i><i>niger, Saccharomyces </i>sp<i>, Penicillium</i><i> </i>sp<i>, Rhizopus</i><i> </i><i>stolonifer, Fusarium</i><i> </i>sp and <i>Mucor</i><i> </i><i>mucedo</i>. The total bacterial count ranged from 3.2กม10<SUP>6</SUP> to 7.2 กม10<SUP>6</SUP>cfu/g for samples washed with distilled water and 1.6 x 10<SUP>6</SUP> to 4.8กม10<SUP>6</SUP>cfu/g for samples washed with physiological saline. <i>S. aureus</i><i> </i>had the highest occurrence of 25% while <i>Salmonella typhii</i><i> </i>had the least occurrence of 10%. The fungal count ranged from 3.0กม10<SUP>5</SUP> to 5.0กม10<SUP>5</SUP>sfu/g for samples washed with distilled water and 1.0กม10<SUP>5</SUP> to 3.0กม10<SUP>5</SUP>sfu/g for samples washed with physiological saline. <i>R. stolonifer</i><i> </i>had the highest percentage of occurrence of 33.3%. <i>Saccharomyces</i> had the occurrence of 22.2% and <i>Penicillium</i><i> </i>sp<i>, A. niger, Mucor</i><i> </i><i>mucedo, Fusarium</i><i> </i>sp had the least occurrence of 11.1%. This study showed the presence of organisms of health significance on retail vegetables. Reduction of risk of human illness associated with raw produce can be achieved through controlling points of potential contamination.},
doi={10.12691/ajmr-3-3-3}
publisher={Science and Education Publishing}
}