Vol. 13 No. 39-46 (2022): MICROBIAL ASSESSMENT OF BITTER KOLA NUTS (Garcinia kola) SOLD IN ABRAKA AND ENVIRONMENTS Idise, O. E

Triplicates of eight samples of Bitter cola nuts (Garcinia cola) purchased from sales outlets in Abraka and environs in Delta State, Nigeria were analysed using standard methods to determine the microbial load. The counts ranged from 5 to 6 Log10cfu/ml, 3.3 to 3.6 Log10cfu/ml and 2 to 2.78 Log10cfu/ml for total aerobic, coliform and fungal counts respectively. The bacterial isolates were Serratia sp, Bacillus sp, Escherichia sp and Staphylococcus sp while the fungal isolates were Fusarium sp, Aspergillus sp and Mucor sp. Staphylococcus sp (36.84%) and Aspergillus sp (42.86%) were the most frequently isolated organisms. Proximate analyses showed that the nuts could promote microbial growth as they contained high moisture content (65.40 ± 0.06%) and apparently high Aw, total carbohydrate (+fibre) content of 30.47%, dry matter of 32.60 ± 0.07ppm and crude protein of 3.52 ± 0.22ppm. As these organisms are reported pathogens with high level of antibiotic resistance, there is the need for consumers to physically sort out nuts that show signs of microbial growth and damage prior to consumption to avert diseases associated with the organisms isolated in this study.

Keywords: Bitter Kola, Nuts, Isolates.