Biochemical Composition and Microorganisms Associated with Senilia senilis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Mangrove Swamps of Iko Estuary, Southeast, Nigeria

Abstract

The bloody cockle (Senilia senilis), has been harvested by humans over thousands of years and can therefore be a good candidate for assessing past variations of key environmental parameters. Proximate and Microbes associated with S. senilis were evaluated as indices for food safety and biomarker of pollution. Standard microbiological techniques and standard methods of AOAC were employed. Results showed that Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus species, Proteus species, Klebsiella species, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerea, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Enterobacter sp, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Chromatium species were the probable bacteria while Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium species, Candida tropicalis, Fusarium species and Aspergillus flavus were the probable fungi isolated from the sample. The mean crude protein, moisture, carbohydrate, ash, lipid and crude fibre contents of the soft tissues were 55.86±2.80, 45.01±1.73, 28.59±2.88, 5.96±0.35, 6.61±0.81 and 4.52±0.19% respectively, while the energy or caloric value was 397.65±11.97 Kcal. The mean Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Count, Total Vibrio Count, Total Coliform Count, Total Salmonella Shigella, Total Staphylococcus Count and Total Fungal Count in fresh sample were 1.72±0.85x105, 7.62±1.11x10, 3.33±1.73x10, 2.40±0.14x102, 2.08±0.21x101 and 3.33±0.68x104 cfu g-1 respectively and concentrated mostly in the gut. Although, S. senilis is highly nutritious, the high microbial load make its consumption life threatening. Proper monitoring and surveillance should therefore be adopted by Government and non-governmental agencies to check pollution of the aquatic environments and proper processing should be adopted before consumption for good public health.