MICROBIAL PROFILING AND ANTIFUNGAL SCREENING OF SHEA BUTTER, COCONUT OIL AND PALM KERNEL OIL SOLD IN PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

^*Akomah-Abadaike O.N., and Sulaiman M.D.

University of Port Harcourt, School of Science laboratory Technology, Microbiology Technology option PMB 5323 Choba Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria.

^*Corresponding Author’s: E-mail Addresses ✉: onyinyechi.akomah@yahoo.com; onyinyechi.akomah@uniport.edu.ng

Accepted August 02, 2019

Edible oils (Shea butter, coconut oil, and Palm kernel oil) are used extensively in Nigeria. These oils are processed to eliminate undesirable constituents. They are in use for domestic and industrial purposes. The study investigated the microbial profile of the oils as well as the antifungal screening. The parameters analyzed were: total heterotrophic bacterial (THB), total heterotrophic fungi (HTF), total coliforms, total Salmonella Shigella, Minimal Inhibitory concentration screening of selected antifungal. The result revealed total heterotrophic bacterial count of Shea butter as 9.5 x 10^-4 - 2.1 x 10^-6cfu/g, Coconut oil as 7.5 x 10^-4 - 1.68 x 10^-6 cfu/ml while Palm kernel oil as 6.0 x 10^-4 - 1.2 x 10^-6 cfu/ml. Total coliforms were 9.0 x 10^-2 - 9.9 x 10^-3 cfu/g and total Salmonella Shigella were 1.2 x 10^-2 - 1.4 x 10^-4 cfu/ml. The bacteria genera were Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas sp, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp, Serratia sp, Micrococcus sp, Klebsiella sp, Staphylococcus sp, Flavobacteria sp, S. marcescens, Salmonella sp and the fungi genera were Aspergillus sp, Penicillin sp, Rhizopus sp, Fusarium sp, Candida sp, Mucor sp, Paecilomyces sp, Cladosporium sp, Saccharomyces sp. The antifungal screen shows Nystatin and Ketoconazole recorded a MIC of 12.25 mg having 71 % and 81.9 % respectively. It is recommended that edible oil be produce with sanitized equipment and be stored in sterilized containers.

Key words: Edible Oils, Antifungi, S. marcescens, Aspergillus sp, Inhibitory, Mycoses.

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