Abstract
Some vegetables such as Capsicum annum (Pepper), Lycopersicon esculentum (Tomato), Allium cepa (Onion), Cucumis sativus (Cucumber), Solanum tubero- sum (Potato) and Daucus carrota (Carrot) which are consumed more frequently in the area were obtained from Kaduna central market and Kawo market with the aim of isolating and characterizing the different bacterial flora associated with their spoilage. Four bacteriological media: Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA), MacConkey Agar (MA), Salmonella Shigella Agar (SSA) and Blood Agar (BA) were used for the isolation of the bacterial populations. The results obtained from Kaduna central market indicated the presence of two Gram positive bacteria viz: Staphylococcus and Streptococcus strains as well as three Gram negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, Citrobacter and Klebsiella spp. Staphylococcus aureus is the most abundant (with 80% relative occurrence) with Strep-tococcus spp being the least abundant (with 10% relative occurrence). Furthermore, among the Gram negative isolates, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter and Kleb- siella spp had the highest occurrence of 30% each, while Enterobacter spp had the least. Similar results were obtained of the isolates from Kawo market except that among the Gram negatives, Edwardsiella spp was found in Kawo market but E. coli is absent. More so, S. aureus and K. spp has the highest percentage of 605 each in Kawo market. The result showed that the people consuming these vegetables are at higher risk of boils, carbuncles, impetigo, infections of wounds and burns, breast abscesses, whitlow, osteomyelitis, bronchopneumonia, septicemia, bacteremia, acute endocarditis, food poisoning and scalded skin syndrome due to these bacterial populations.
Highlights
Vegetables are the edible product of an herbaceous plant that are mostly valuable sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber and are low in fat and calories [1,2]
Some vegetables such as Capsicum annum (Pepper), Lycopersicon esculentum (Tomato), Allium cepa (Onion), Cucumis sativus (Cucumber), Solanum tuberosum (Potato) and Daucus carrota (Carrot) which are consumed more frequently in the area were obtained from Kaduna central market and Kawo market with the aim of isolating and characterizing the different bacterial flora associated with their spoilage
The result revealed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. as the Gram positive bacteria associated with the vegetables
Summary
Vegetables are the edible product of an herbaceous plant that are mostly valuable sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber and are low in fat and calories [1,2]. Vegetables are vital sources of nutrient to human beings. They give the body the necessary vitamins, fats, minerals and oil in the right proportion for human growth and development [3]. The nutritional content of vegetables varies considerably, though generally they contain little protein or fat [4,5] and varying proportions of vitamins, provitamins, dietary minerals, fiber and carbohydrates. Vegetables contain a great variety of other phytochemicals, some of which have been claimed to have antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties [6]. This quality makes the vegetables to be suitable environment for bacterial and other microbial growth and development
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