Background: Several occupational diseases of multiple origins are encountered among abattoir workers. Presence of indicator microorganisms (coliforms) on hands of workers can be used a gauge for hygienic practices.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to assess the prevalence of E.coli and enterobacteriaceae among Halal abattoir workers in some government halal abattoirs of Malaysia. A total of one hundred and sixty-five hand swab samples were collected from workers of Halal abattoirs in Malaysia. The samples were subjected to microbiological analysis for characterisation and serotyping.Results: The results have shown that no Escherichia coli O157:H7 was isolated on the hands of abattoir workers before and after work. However, a total prevalence of 9.7% was recorded for all samples during work. For non-O157:H7, total prevalence of 33.3% during work and 13% after work were obtained. High prevalence was recorded in sample taken during work from Tampin, Jasin and Kemaman (100% each) while low prevalence where observed in Shah Alam, Banting and Ipoh (20% each).Conclusions: Based on the findings the hygienic practices of hand washing among the workers in few locations was found to be low especially after work.

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Natural products from medicinal plants either as pure compounds or standardized extracts, provide unlimited opportunities for new drug leads, because of the unmatched availability of chemical diversity. Due to an increasing demand for therapeutic drugs from natural products, interest particularly in edible plants has grown throughout the world. The phytochemical screening was carried out via standard procedures while the isolation and characterization was done using different solvents via thin layer and column chromatography. The bioactivity studies of the purely active compound isolated was achieved using different clinical bacterial isolates, gram negative (E. coli and Salmonella typhi) and positive (Staphylococcus aureus); the radical scavenging power of the purely active compound was assayed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) and characterization using GCMS, 1HNMR, 13CNMR and FTIR was carried out to facilitate structure elucidation. The focus of this paper is on the analytical and biological methodologies, which includes the extraction, isolation, bioactivity studies, and characterization of the purely active ingredients in the stem bark of Adenanthera pavonina.

Amylases are enzymes that are able to hydrolyse starch or glycogen molecules into polymers of glucose units. They have great potential applications in various industrial processes like in pharmaceutical, fermentation and food industries. Research on starch degrading enzymes has resulted into increased applications of amylases in different industrial processes. These enzymes occupy a greater space in the current biotechnological processes such as detergent, starch degradation, pharmaceutical, foodstuff, textile, and paper manufacturing. In fact, amylases constitute nearly 25% of the total sale of global enzymes. Amylases have been screened and identified from various sources, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms such as animals, plants, fungi and bacteria, respectively. To further isolate novel amylases with enhanced desirable properties for such diverse industrial application, more organisms need to be screened. In this study, a total of 27 bacterial isolates were isolated from soil samples in Gombe metropolis. The bacteria were screened for amylase production using plate screening method. Each isolate was streaked onto a 1% starch agar plate and incubated for 24h at 37 °C. The plates were covered with iodine solution and observed for positive amylase isolates based on the formation of clearing zones against the blue black background. The results confirmed eight (8) isolates of amylase-producing bacteria which include Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus spp., Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Serratia spp., Proteus vulgaris, and Klebsiella spp. In conclusion, bacterial isolates capable of amylase production have been successfully screened and identified. This research may serve as a stepping stone to isolating functional amylase enzymes from these bacteria for promising industrial applications.

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Background: Diseases contracted through consuming contaminated water present health challenges globally, hence this study aimed to assess occurrence and antibiogram of bacteria isolated from various brands of sachet drinking water sold in Gombe metropolis. Methods: Twenty brands of samples were collected randomly, serially diluted, and cultured on nutrient agar (NA). Isolates were identified morphologically and biochemically, with antibiogram determined using Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Results: All the 20 samples produced positive bacterial growths with counts ranging from 1.0x10 3 to 9.8x10 3 CFU/ml with identified colonies of Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae). Antibiogram revealed the isolates were all resistant to augmentin, cefixime, cefuroxime and ceftazidime, but E. coli and S. aureus were also resistant to gentamicin. Conclusion: The samples were contaminated with potentially pathogenic bacteria that were resistant to some antibiotics. Hence there is need for enforcement of drinking water standards to avoid consequences of unsafe drinking water, thus improving the health of the population.

The development of biofilms by the foodborne pathogens attached to surfaces in the food processing environments results in the deterioration of products, persistence of pathogenic bacteria and transmission of food-associated diseases. In addition, biofilms are more resistant to antimicrobials than their planktonic counterparts which make their elimination from food and the food processing facilities a great challenge. This study aim was to determine the inhibitory effect of food additives on biofilm forming Escherichia coli O157:H7. The isolate obtained was subjected to Gram’s staining and various biochemical identifications and later confirmed by latex agglutination test. Biofilm formation potential was done on Congo red media and the confirmed biofilm former was subjected to biofilm formation at 10℃ and 37℃ for 168hrs. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, MIC, MBC, and antibiofilm effect was determined following CLSI 2017 guideline. The highest zone of growth inhibition of 31 mm was exhibited by cinnamaldehyde, sodium nitrite with 26 mm and sodium citrate with 13 mm. The MIC 2.5 mg/mL was recorded for sodium citrate, 0.25 mg/mL for sodium nitrite and 0.125 μl/mL for cinnamaldehyde. Strong biofilm was formed at 37 ℃ with 7.82 x 109 CFU/mL viable cells at 168hrs while 6.79 x 109 CFU/mL were obtained at 10 ℃. All the three additives showed antibiofilm effect (at 10℃ and 37℃), cinnamaldehyde exhibited 70%-90.1%, sodium nitrite; 70%-88.2% inhibition and sodium nitrite; 75%-88% inhibition respectively. This study showed that sodium citrate, sodium nitrite and cinnamaldehyde exerted strong antimicrobial and antibiofilm properties indicating their potential as good preservatives.

Pulp and paper industry are one of the fastest-growing industries due to increased demand in paper products which are proved to affect our environment negatively. Global consumption of paper has increased by 400% in the last four decades and this suggests that more research is required to assess the impact of industrial effluents on our environment and public health. Paper products are generally biodegradable, however, the processes involved in its production which involve the use of mainly bleaching agents and other non-biodegradable substances pose a serious problem to the environment. There are more than 250 chemicals released in paper mill waste and some are xenobiotics. Different methods such as physical and chemical methods can be adopted for the remediation of the effluents but are proved to be costly and not safe to the environment. On the other hand, the biological method is shown to be less costly and environmentally friendly. Microorganisms and their enzymes have shown a promising future for bioremediation of effluents related to the paper mill. Pentachlorophenol is extremely hazardous to living cells and therefore need to be removed from the environment. Microorganisms including bacteria and fungi have the potential to degrade phenolic compounds e.g. Bacillus stearothermiphilus, Pseudomonas putida, Coricus versicolor, Sphingomonas chlorophenol, Fusarium sp, Bacillus subtilis and P. aeroginosa.. Enzymes used for the degradation include phenol hydrooxylase, polyphenoloxylase, laccase, peroxidase among others. Lignin is another important pollutant and is resistant to microbial degradation, but it has been proved that certain bacteria and fungi like can degrade it. This review focused on use of microorganism to reduce or eradicate pollutants released from the paper industry. It can serve as a review for further research to be conducted especially in the field of biotechnology.