This study aimed at evaluating the fermentative performance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from palm wine on honey slurry and dates palm fruit juice blend for wine production. The yeast was isolated from palm wine on saboraud dextrose agar (SDA) using pour plate technique and was identified using microscopic and standard biochemical techniques. Physicochemical parameters were determined during 21 days fermentation using standard procedures. The proximate composition of the blend before fermentation and the produced wine was evaluated. The microbiological and sensory evaluations of the produced wine was investigated. The yeast strain was identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The fermentation recorded total viable yeast count from 2.5x106 to 13.0 x 106 CFU/mL. The physicochemical parameters revealed that during the fermentation, the pH values ranged from 4.3 to 5.4, percentage titratable acidity (TTA) ranged from 5.2 to 9.4. The temperature of the fermentation ranged from 24 to 29°C and the specific gravity values decreased steadily from 1.100 to1.010. Proximate composition of the date fruit revealed low protein content between 1.00 and 1.05, but high moisture content (82.43%). The produced wine contained reasonable amount of total carbohydrate A (19.59%), B (25.28%), C (22.7%) and D (21.88%). There were variations on other proximate compositions observed. The produced wine was not contaminated with bacteria and fungi. Sensory evaluation of the wine revealed acceptable aroma/flavor and taste. This study indicates that Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain from the palm wine have good fermentative performance which suggested that it could be used for fruit wine production and other industrial applications preceded by further experiments.

Serotyping characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella clinical isolates were examined for a period of 10-months to study the most frequently encountered serovars in salmonellosis and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Seven hundred and twenty (720) samples of both stool and blood specimens were collected from out patients attending three hospitals in Katsina State, Nigeria. The samples were collected from patients diagnosed by clinicians with either pyrexia, gastroenteritis or both. Samples were cultured; isolates were identified and antibiotic susceptibility test was performed using standard procedures. The total number of 108 (15%) of the 720 samples collected yielded positive for Salmonella strains. Out of the 108 isolates, 61 (56.5%) were responsible for typhoidal salmonellosis, while 47(43.5%) were responsible for non-typhoidal salmonellosis. Of the 108 cases of salmonellosis, 91(84.3%) were from children and 17(15.7%) from adults. S. Typhi (40.7%) was the most frequently encountered, followed by S. Enteritidis (26.9%) and least encountered was S. Arizonae (2.8%). There was no significant difference in the serotypes isolated from each of the hospitals with respect to the type of salmonellosis caused with their p values > 0.05. Of the total isolates, 94.2% were found to be resistant to ampicillin, 22.2% resistant to cefotaxime, 72.8% resistant to chloramphenicol, 31.8% resistant to co-trimoxazole and 4.9% resistant to nalidixic acid. However, resistance to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin by the isolates were not found. Therefore, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin remains the drug of choice for severe cases of salmonellosis, although caution should be exercised by clinicians in their prescriptions such that fluoroquinolones antibiotic therapy is used only in laboratory-proven cases of typhoid fever and Salmonella-associated bacteraemia to preserve its efficacy.

Bio-preservation of Nigerian soft-white cheese (wara) in submerged consortium of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) culture was investigated. Lactobacillus acidophilus PIT17 and Lactococcus lactis PIT30 were isolated from pito using the pour plate technique on MRS medium. The selection of L. acidophilus PIT17 and L. lactis PIT30 for the bio-preservation studies were based on their ability to produce acidophilin and nisin to inhibit the growth of the test isolates. The 'wara' were submerged in consortia of the L. acidophilus PIT17 and L. lactis PIT30 culture and were kept/stored at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10°C and at room temperature. The shelf-life of the wara alongside control was determined. Physicochemical and proximate analysis, microbial counts and organoleptic characteristics of the wara were also carried out before and after the bio-preservation. The shelf life of the wara were observed with a significant difference (p < 0.05) at storage temperatures of 2°C (5 days), 4°C (6 days), 6°C (4 days), 8°C (3 days), 10°C (6 days) and 24±1°C (3 days). The proximate analysis of wara showed significant difference (p < 0.05) at different storage temperatures employed. The total viable bacterial count (TVBC) of the cheese (wara) decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after 24 h of submerged bio-preservation of wara from 9.8 × 10 5 cfu/ml, 1.3 × 10 6 cfu/g to between 6.2 × 10 5 and 7.5 × 10 5 cfu/g. The organoleptic characteristics of wara revealed that there were significant difference (p < 0.05) in colour, texture, aroma, taste, and general acceptability.

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