Abstract
Shell fishes constitute a vital source of food for humans due to its high nutritional values. Bacteriological and nutritional assessments of Galatea paradoxa treated with Citrus aurantifolia and NaCl were determined using bacteriological and analytical protocols. The results revealed a reduction from 4.845 to 2.301 Log CFU/g in Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Counts (THBC) in G. paradoxa treated with 10% NaCl for 5 mins. The G. paradoxa treated with 7.5 % NaCl for 5 min had a reduction in Total Coliform Counts (TCC) ranging from 3.903 to 2.398 Log CFU/g, while Total Faecal Coliform Counts (TFC) in G. paradoxa treated with 5 % and 10 % for 10 min reduced by 99.99 %. There was 53.46% THBC reduction in G. paradoxa treated with 10% C. aurantifolia for 5 min; THBC in G. paradoxa treated with 10% C. aurantifolia for 10 min reduced by 79.36 %; THBC in G. paradoxa treated with 10 % equal concentrations of NaCl and C. aurantifolia decreased by 99.99 % within 10 min, while TCC in G. paradoxa treated with 7.5 % equal concentrations of NaCl and C. aurantifolia within 10 min of exposure had 99.99 % decrease. The predominant survived bacterial genera in treated samples were Bacillus, Vibrio and Micrococcus. There was insignificant difference (p ≥ 0.05) between the nutritional compositions of treated and untreated samples. This study showed that G. paradoxa could be treated with C. aurantifolia and NaCl so as to avert possible foodborne diseases associated with consumption of this aquatic food.
Highlights
An increase in population worldwide has resulted in a substantial increase in consumption of aquatic food such as Galatea paradoxa (Samya and Mohammed, 2006)
The results revealed a Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Counts (THBC) reduction in G. paradoxa treated with 10% NaCl for 5 mins from 4.845 to 2.301 Log CFU/g, while THBC in G. paradoxa samples treated with 10% NaCl for 5 mins decreased from 4.845 to 1.146 Log CFU/g
The results showed 53.46% THBC reduction in G. paradoxa treated with 10% C. aurantifolia for 5 min, while THBC in G. paradoxa treated with 10% C. aurantifolia for 10 min reduced by 79.36 %
Summary
An increase in population worldwide has resulted in a substantial increase in consumption of aquatic food such as Galatea paradoxa (Samya and Mohammed, 2006). Galatea paradoxa (Born 1778) are freshwater clams, bivalve and filter feeding mollusc that belong to order ‘Veneroidea’; superfamily ‘Tellinoidea’ and family ‘Donacidae’ (Moses, 1990). These aquatic animals, without vertebral column, have two hinged calcareous shells that aid its protection and are endemic in West African countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroun (Etim and Brey, 1994; Villalobs and Elguezabel, 2001). The G. paradoxa are a suitable bio-indicator of environmental pollution (Chiesa et al, 2018; Okon et al, 2020) They can accumulate human pathogenic organisms from sewage contaminated waters and accumulate toxins in its soft tissues through feeding on toxic phytoplankton (Gram et al, 2002). The soft tissue of G. paradoxa is consumed after frying, smoking, roasting, steaming or cooking (King, 2000; Villalobs and Elguezabel, 2001) and G. paradoxa serves as a means of livelihood some dwellers in parts of Southern Nigeria
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