The antimicrobial effect in vitro of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of garlic (Allium sativum Linn.), ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) and lime (Citrus aurantifolia Linn.) juice were assayed against Staphylococcus aureus; Bacillus spp., Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. All the test organisms were susceptible to undiluted lime-juice. The aqueous and ethanolic extracts of garlic and ginger singly did not inhibit any of the test organisms. The highest inhibition zone of 19 mm was observed with a combination of extracts on Staphylococcus aureus. Salmonella spp were resistant to almost all the extracts except lime.

Background: This study evaluated the effect of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) consortium fermentation on proximate and in vitro starch and protein digestibility of sorghum flour using standard techniques at 12-h intervals. Lactic acid bacteria previously isolated from fermenting maize and sorghum were combined as follows: Lactobacillus nantensis LP33 + Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 + Lactobacillus fermentum CIP102980 + Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG ATCC53/03 + Lactobacillus reuteri DSM20016 and Lactobacillus fermentum CIP102980 + Lactobacillus brevis ATCC14869 + Lactobacillus nantensis LP33 + Pediococcus acidilactici DSM20284 + Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 for consortium from maize and sorghum, respectively, and used to ferment sorghum flour. The flour was also fermented spontaneously for comparison. Results: The result showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in moisture, ash and protein contents; while fiber, lipid and carbohydrate contents decreased with increasing fermentation time in all setups. The in vitro protein digestibility increased significantly (p < 0.05) from 63.68 ± 1.46 to 79.89 ± 1.14%, 63.68 ± 1.46 to 83.72 ± 2.08% and 63.68 ± 1.46 to 84.28 ± 2.16% for naturally, LAB consortium from maize-fermented and LAB consortium from sorghum-fermented samples, respectively. Total viable count and total lactic acid bacteria count increased with fermentation with no coliform and fungal count in the consortia-fermented sample. The occurrence of isolates showed that only starter organisms were isolated from the consortia fermentations. Conclusion: This study has shown the effectiveness of LAB consortium fermentation in improving the nutritional quality and in vitro starch/protein digestibility of sorghum flour which holds potential in food fortification by food industries.

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The effects of petroleum-produced water (PPW) in bacterial population and soil enzymatic activities in cassava farmland in Egbema were investigated. Results obtained showed that the flow carried away soil, silt, organic matter, and total phosphorus and nitrogen creating areas with different impacting degrees. This resulted in lower bacterial prevalence and diversity in heavily impacted soil that increased in moderately impacted. In the lightly impacted soil the results were above the control. Most affected were the nitrifying bacteria followed by the coliforms and the hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria. In other hand, total heterotrophic bacteria were the least affected. Urease has presented 5.8 times higher activity in the lightly impacted soil and 5.4 times in the control than the 0.62 mg NH3-N/g/24 h observed in the heavily impacted soil. Dehydrogenases have showed 5.2 times more activity in the lightly impacted soil with only 4.71 mg/g/6 h in the heavily impacted soil. Hydrogen peroxidase and polyphenol-oxidase have shown similar pattern in all impacting situation. Alkaline phosphatase did not show any significant change in activity while the change in activity of acid phosphatase was very low. PPW therefore affected bacterial quality and soil enzymatic activities adversely when in high quantity but when in low quantity encouraged higher bacterial diversity and soil enzymatic activities.

The effects of physicochemical properties and attachment surface characteristics on biofilm formed in a cassava mill effluent of the polluted Oloshi River (Nigeria) was investigated. Concerning to physicochemical properties, the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) were significantly affected with higher values in the discharge point (DP) than in the downstream points (DS). Values for these properties in samples from upstream (US) sites were lower than in the DP, except for DO that was higher. Klebsiella spp., Corynebacterium spp., Moraxella spp., Acinetobacter spp., and Saccharomyces spp. were absent in the US, but were found from the DP though the DS. Regarding to the bioloads, DS I has presented the highest bacterial counts, followed by the DS II, while the lower counts were obtained in US. Again, in a general form, higher biofilm contents have been observed in DS I, followed by DS II, and lower in US. In all sampling sites, wood surfaces had the highest biofilm bacterial counts followed by the plastic surfaces before the glass and metallic surfaces. In that order, higher biofilm bacterial counts then water column counts were observed. The obtained results let us to infer that the availability of nutrients and the nature of attachment surfaces directly influence in the biofilm formation in such analyzed ecosystems.

The antimicrobial effect of cold water, hot water and ethanolic extracts of Spondias mombin and Baphia nittida on cariogenic streptococci isolated from dental caries patients attending the Ebonyi State University Teaching hospital dental clinic Abakaliki was investigated using the agar well diffusion technique. The cold water and ethanolic extracts of Baphia nittida showed inhibition zone diameter (IZD) of 10 and 12 mm respectively at 400 mg mL(-1), while the hot water showed no inhibitory effect. All extracts of Spondias mombin did not inhibit the test organism. The cold water and ethanolic extracts of Baphia nittida showed Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of 100 and 50 mg mL(-1) respectively. The combination of the cold water extracts of the two herbs showed enhanced activity of 13 mm. Phytochemical analysis of Baphia nittida revealed the presence of flavonoids, glycosides, proteins saponins, tannins, carbohydrate and steroidal aglycone. Acute toxicity testing of Baphia nittida at a range of 250-5000 mg kg(-1) bw using mice showed no clinical signs of acute toxicity. No chemical toxicity was observed amongst rats given Baphia nittida extracts 500 and 1000 mg kg(-1) bw after 30 days. Baphia nittida may be a potential source of an antimicrobial agent for the treatment and management of dental caries.

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