The antimicrobial activity of n-hexane and aqueous extracts of the nut of cashew fruit Anacardium occidentale L. was investigated on some pathogenic organisms of medical importance using agar well diffusion method. The test organisms are Proteus sp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus cloacae and Acinetobacter baumanii. All the test organisms were identified to be sensitive to the extract at various concentrations (0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40 and 0.50 g/ml) except Acinetobacter baumanii. The greater the concentration of the extract, the higher the antibacterial activities exerted on the isolates. K. pneumonia was the most susceptible organism to the n-hexane extract followed by P. aeruginosa. The least susceptible to the extract was Proteus sp. while A. baumanii was resistant to the extract. The most susceptible organism to the water extract was Pseudomonas aeruginosa while the least was E. cloacae. Therefore, it is suggested that the extract could be used as antibiotic which may contribute to the improvement of health care delivery if the active chemical compounds capable of inhibiting the growth of the test bacteria are analysed and compounded into dosage forms for use.
Samples of three (3) different varieties of infected onion bulbs were collected from different locations at Ojaoba, Muslim, Oke-ado and Bode markets of Ibadan. Isolation of microorganisms from infected onions (Allium cepa) was carried out. The results revealed that the infected onion bulbs were associated with Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Salmonella sp., Proteus sp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus fumigatus. It was also observed that the market where samples were collected and the variety of onions have no significant effect on the level of bacterial infestation. The mean total bacteria count ranges from 2.2 × 10 3 to 8.5 × 10 3. Furthermore, the market where samples were obtained and types of onions had no significant effect on the fungal infestation level. The level of infestation ranges from 1.1 × 10 1 to 3.1 × 10 1 . E. coli had the lowest bacterial prevalence of 8.3% in the study area when compared to Klebsiella sp. (33.3%), Proteus sp. (30.6%) and Salmonella sp. (27.8%). Aspergillus niger had the highest fungal prevalence of 44.8% while Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Rhizopus stolonifer had prevalence of 26.9, 14.9 and 13.4% respectively. It shows that the different varieties of onions purchased at the selected markets in Ibadan, Oyo State contained different pathogenic microorganisms. Adequate care should be taken in processing onions (Allium cepa) to prevent food poisoning.
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