Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the microbiological quality of fresh raw and unwashed leafy and salad vegetables in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Six different types of samples (red amaranth, spinach, carrot, radish, tomato, and cucumber) were collected in pre-sterilized zip-lock bags from various local markets in Dhaka. All samples were transported to the Centre of Excellence for Global Health Research Laboratory of Primeasia University at earliest convenience. Samples were enriched in Nutrient Broth media and were then cultured on selective media for isolation purpose. Serial dilution was performed for the total viable count. Biochemical and carbohydrate profiling was conducted for the presumptive identification of the isolates. Commercial antibiotic discs were used for antibiogram by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar medium. The total microbial load ranged from 8x107 to 1.70x108. Total 36 isolates were identified, having 7 differentorganisms. The most predominant organism was Vibrio sp. (23%) followed by Klebsiella sp.(20%), Acinetobacter sp. (19%), Pseudomonas sp. (19%), Salmonella sp. (8%), Moraxella sp.(8%) and Escherichia coli (3%). 11% of the Vibrio sp. isolates were V. cholerae, found from 4 samples. No presence of V. cholerae was observed in the tomatosamples. E. coli was observed only in Carrot sample. Antibiotics from 7 different groups were tested against the organisms among which Imipenem showed the highest sensitivity (86%). Following Ceftriaxone (100%), Nitrofurantoin (94%), Erythromycin (89%) and Amoxicillin (83%) had the highest resistance against the isolated organisms. Moreover, most of the isolates showed a multi-drug resistance pattern where they were resistant to at least four drugs. Prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in raw unwashed vegetables can cause potential adverse health effects and therefore the consumers need to be conscious about the matter.
Highlights
Different types of vegetables are consumed raw worldwide for its highly nutritional value
Where our study focused on the presence of Gram-negative bacteria on the fresh and unwashed vegetables to increase public awareness of the importance of good domestic hygiene practice
The present study was focused on the detection of Gramnegative pathogenic bacteria from unwashed raw vegetables and determining the quality of those products
Summary
Different types of vegetables are consumed raw worldwide for its highly nutritional value. Salad vegetables are often unwashed before consumption. Vegetables are rich in carbohydrates, anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and fibers and often consumed uncooked [1]. In recent years many countries have undertaken various initiatives to encourage consumers to eat more vegetables as they are an essential ingredient of a healthy diet [2]. Vegetables have been strongly associated with improvement of gastrointestinal health, good vision, and reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, chronic diseases such as diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Some phytochemicals of vegetables are strong antioxidants and are thought to reduce the risk of chronic disease by protecting against free radical damage, by modifying metabolic activation and detoxification of carcinogens, or even by influencing processes that alter the course of tumor cells [3]
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