Multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria on fluted pumpkin leaves, a herb of therapeutic value.

Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) is a minimally-processed green leafy vegetable traditionally used for its antianaemic properties in the form of leaf juice without a heating or inactivation step before consumption. The aim of the study was to assess the presence of surface microbiota on T. oc...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Health, Population & Nutrition Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 176 - 183
Main Authors: Igbeneghu, Oluwatoyin A, Abdu, Abdulrasheed B
Format: Journal Article
Published: BioMed Central Jun2014
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=103978986&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 103978986
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        16060997
        HII
      jtl: Journal of Health, Population & Nutrition
      issn: 16060997
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jun2014
      vid: 32
      iid: 2
      pid: 24147
      pub: BioMed Central
    artinfo:
      ui:
        103978986
        NLM25076655
        2012666764
        NLM25076655
        103978986
      ppf: 176
      ppct: 7
      formats:
        fmt:
          @attributes:
            type: P
      tig:
        atl: Multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria on fluted pumpkin leaves, a herb of therapeutic value.
      aug:
        au:
          Igbeneghu, Oluwatoyin A
          Abdu, Abdulrasheed B
      sug:
        subj:
          Antibiotics Pharmacodynamics
          Bacteria Drug Effects
          Squash Microbiology
          Drug Resistance, Microbial Physiology
          Plant Leaves Microbiology
          Bacteria
          Gram-Negative Bacteria Drug Effects
          Gram-Negative Bacteria
          Klebsiella Drug Effects
          Klebsiella
          Microbial Culture and Sensitivity Tests Methods
          Proteus Drug Effects
          Proteus
          Pseudomonas Drug Effects
          Pseudomonas
          Serratia Drug Effects
          Serratia
          Staphylococcus Drug Effects
          Staphylococcus
      ab: Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) is a minimally-processed green leafy vegetable traditionally used for its antianaemic properties in the form of leaf juice without a heating or inactivation step before consumption. The aim of the study was to assess the presence of surface microbiota on T. occidentalis leaves and also to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated organisms. Bacterial contaminants on 50 samples of T. occidentalis leaves were isolated and characterized using standard biochemical methods and the antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated organisms was determined using the antibiotic disc diffusion assay. The results obtained show that the leaves of T. occidentalis is contaminated with organisms which included Enterobacter agglomerans (25.9%), Proteus vulgaris (24.9%), Klebsiella spp. (2.6%), and Serratia liquefaciens (2.1%). Other bacterial isolates recovered in order of frequency included: Staphylococcus spp. (33.7%), Bacillus spp. (8.3%), and Pseudomonas fluorescens (2.6%). Of the 193 bacterial isolates from the leaves of T. occidentalis samples tested for antimicrobial resistance, all (100%) were found to be resistant to ampicillin, cloxacillin, augmentin, erythromycin, and tetracycline while 96% of the isolates were resistant to cephalothin. Resistance to trimethoprim (93%) and gentamicin (83%) was also observed. Approximately, 22% of the isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin; however, only 11 (5.8%) were resistant to ofloxacin. Thus, uncooked T. occidentalis is a potential source of highly-resistant epiphytic bacteria which could be opportunistic pathogens in consumers.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N