Evaluation of Microbial Pathogens and Effect of Time on the Quality of Fermented African Oil Bean Seed

Abstract

The African oil bean seed (ugba) is a fermented food kept and sold for a period of time by vendors. The study was carried out to determine the presence of pathogens in the african oil bean seed (ugba) and determine the effect of time on the samples. A total of 12 samples were obtained from vendors in three different markets within Enugu metropolis, Enugu state, Nigeria. The already fermented samples were further kept for 4 days and their microbial count determined. Cultures were done on macconkey agar, potato dextrose agar, salmonella shigella agar, eosin methylene blue agar and nutrient agar. The isolates were characterized and identified by standard microbiological methods and antibiotic susceptibility pattern were identified by disk diffusion method. The values for the microbial counts were carried out in triplicate and results reported as mean ± standard error, the data obtained were subjected to one-way ANOVA using statistical package for social science (SPSS) for windows evaluation. There was statistical difference at p<0.05 between the microbial count from the first to the fourth day in the samples from the various markets. The values ranged from (1.61 ± 0.03) in Garriki, (1.37 ± 0.02) in Mayor and (1.52 ± 0.08) in Agbani market in the first day while values of the fourth day were; (1.45 ± 0.09) in Garriki, (8.60 ± 0.28) in Mayor and (1.29 ± 0.03) in Agbani market. Organoleptic changes in texture and colour were seen to be a factor of time due to storage. E.coli, Salmonella sp and Bacillus sp were isolated from samples in all the market. A decline in growth of E.coli and Salmonella sp by the fourth day of storage was observed for all samples.From the results, ugba

spoilage is primarily a result of the continued activity of fermentative organism; Bacillus sp and other spoilage organisms; E. coli and Salmonella sp.