ICEESR

Increasing resistance of pathogenic microorganisms to synthetic antibiotics has led to the search for alternative drug sources and researches have shown that several plants extracts have either bactericidal or bacteriostatic effects on many pathogenic bacteria. In this study, the UTI associated bacteria isolated (Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Citrobacter freundii, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) were subjected to acetone and crude extract of Moringa oleifera leaves. Susceptibility of bacterial isolates increased with increasing concentration of the extract with acetone extract exhibiting a higher activity than the crude extract. P. aeruginosa gave a comparatively higher inhibition zones with 10 mg/ml (12 mm and 15 mm) and 30 mg/ml (10 mm and13 mm) concentration of the acetone and crude plant extracts respectively. This was followed by K. pneumonia with inhibition zones of 8 mm and 12 mm with 10 mg/ml concentration and 8 mm and 10 mm with 30 mg/ml respectively. Result of Susceptibility of S. aureus and E. coli was higher in the acetone extract than the crude extracts while, of all the isolates, P. mirabilis was found to be least susceptible to the plant extracts.This study reveals that extracts of the fresh leaves of Moringaoleifera have strong antimicrobial potentials.

Proximate analysis, mineral composition, phytochemical constituents and vitamins of the leaves of Cucurbita maxima were evaluated. The leaves of C. maxima has an ash content of12.91%, fibre 11.21%, protein content of 14.21%, lipid 6.31%, carbohydrate 69.22%, moisture content of 74.41% and caloric value of 348.98 Kcal. Mineral compositions, phytochemical constituents and vitamin A and C content for the samples were investigated as well. The data indicated that the leaves of C.maxima are very good sources of mineral elements such as P, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Cu and Zn. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids and cardiac glycocides. The vitamin contents of the sample were also investigated, the leaves of C. maxima has a vitamin A content of 49.81mg/100g and vitamin C content of 31.42mg/100g. Also, this study revealed that C. maxima leaf extract has a significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillussubtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichiacoli. Thus, this study has showned that leaves of Cucurbita maxima are rich sources of nutrients and can contribute significantly to the nutrient requirements and health conditions of humans.

Of the 200 clinical specimens comprising of blood (86), urine (101) and wound swabs (13) screened, Staphylococcus aureus was found to be present in 15 blood specimens, 63 urine specimens and 10 wound swabs specimens representing a prevalence value of 17.4%, 62.4% and 79.6%, respectively. Based on gender of the study subjects, Staphylococcus aureus was found to be more prevalent in female study subjects (60.2%) than in male subjects (26.8%) whereas based on age range, it was found that the Staphylococcus aureus was most prevalent in specimens obtained from subject aged between 21 – 30 years, this was followed by subjects aged between 31 – 40 years while subjects aged 51 and above had the least prevalence. The result of the antibiotics susceptibility profile revealed that the isolates from the urine, blood and wound swabs were susceptible to Ciprofloxacin (82.5%, 86.7% and 90%), Trimethroprim (80.9%, 80% and 70%), Penicillin (98.4%, 100%, 90%) and Augmetrin (96.8%, 86.7% and 80%) respectively.

Typhoid fever is one of the endemic diseases in the tropic and sub-tropics. In this study, blood and stool specimens were collected from 200 participants comprising of 100 male and 100 female aged between 11 to 41 years and above. Of this, 168 (84%

A study of the carriage of microorganisms in armpits and the factors affecting it was carried out on 180 students of the University of Abuja. The armpits were swabbed and microbiological analyses were carried out on the swab samples. Samples were inoculated on Mannitol salt agar plates and coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus isolates were identified. Questionnaires on gender and health related factors were given to students before collection of samples. Statistical analysis using analysis of variance was used for data analysis. Male students used toilet soap (73.75%), had their bath once daily (75%), used deodorant (23%), used sponge for body scrubbing (85%), shaved once in two weeks (65%) and 15% used powder but these did not have any significant influence on the carriage of Staphylococcus aureus (P = 0.05). Most female students used medicated soap (69%), had their bath twice daily (66%), used deodorant (73%), used sponge for body scrubbing (73%), shaved once in month (65%) and 38% used powder but these did not have any significant influence on the carriage of Staphylococcus aureus (P = 0.05). More female participants used deodorants, than the males. The Staphylococcus aureus counts in the armpits of females were lower than the counts from male armpits, which mean that the use of deodorant and powder reduced the carriage of the microorganisms.

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activities of seed extract of Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) against one gram-positive organism, Staphylococcus aureus and one gram-negative organism, Escherichia coli was carried out. The seed extracts were screened for the presence of tannins, saponins, terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids, amino acids and balsams. The agar well diffusion method was employed to determine the effect of the extracts on the growth of the test organisms. The results of the tests carried out on the seeds of Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) shows the phytochemical constituents of the seed extracts which showed the presence of terpenoids, tannins, balsams, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids and amino acids while saponins and steroids were absent. The results also showed that not all concentrations of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the sample had total inhibition on the growth of the tested organisms. However, the seed extracts inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli at various concentrations. It was observed that for the ethanolic extract, only concentrations at 100% and 50% inhibited the growth of the test organisms and for the aqueous extract, only concentrations at 100% inhibited their growth. The results of this study show that seed extracts of C. lanatus have antibacterial activity and are potent just as standard antimicrobial drugs against gram positive and gram negative bacteria.

This study assessed the biosurfactant producing potentials of culturable bacteria isolated from a humic freshwater ecosystem of Eniong River in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. Preliminary screening of the bacterial isolates using a hemolytic test, drop collapse test, oil spreading activity, and emulsification capacity assay revealed that 4 out of the 13 bacterial isolates were able to produce biosurfactant but isolate EHSA4 was the best producer. Molecular characterization of the isolate using 16s rRNA sequencing techniques revealed that isolate EHSA4 demonstrated 99% similarities to Micrococcus luteus AB023371. Plasmid profiling showed that biosurfactant production by M. luteus EHSA4 is plasmid-mediated, as the bacterium lost its 7 kbp plasmid as well as its biosurfactant producing potential after curing. The ability of M. luteus EHSA4 to enhance crude oil degradation by B. subtilis was also analyzed using monoculture of B. subtilis and a culture consortium comprising B. subtilis and M. luteus EHSA4. Analysis revealed enhanced degradation of crude oil and its PAH component by B. subtilis cultured with M. luteus EHSA4. Degradation by monoculture Bacillus sp resulted in 19.

The effect of humic substance (HS) on the growth profile of bacteria isolated from the "blackwater" or humic freshwater system of Eniong River in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria was investigated using standard analytical procedures to determine their degradability in nature. The study revealed that Eniong River harbors diverse species of bacteria whose occurrence and survivability in humic substance (HS) simulated water medium varied with the isolates. Of the 15 bacterial species isolated from the ecosystem, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Micrococcus sp were the most abundant bacterial species in both water and sediment samples and best survivors. Based on the analysis, P. aeruginosa exhibited the best survival potentials in the humic water within 24 hours as it had the highest number of generations (n = 1.26316) within the shortest time (Gt = 18.99996 hours) followed by Micrococcus sp (n = 1.0001; Gt = 23.99761 hours). The isolates also exhibited varying potentials to utilize various concentrations of HS extracted from the sediment as a sole source of carbon by their increase in cell density overtime. Our findings have shown that Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Micrococcus isolated from the blackwater system of Eniong River in Nigeria do not only survive the inhibitory stress of humic substance, they do so with high levels of viable cells generate-ability and within short periods. These are attributes which can be exploited for the degradation of recalcitrant humic wastes and for the bioconversion of lignolytic wastes into useful products

The present study was designed to evaluate the PAH status, fate of PAH suites (2-& 3-ring PAHs) and their degradation in the epipellic sediment (mudflat) of Iko River estuary using standard analytical and microbiological techniques. The results of the analysis have shown that the mudflat of Iko Estuary ecosystem contained detectable levels of PAHs (ranging from 8.61 to 9.02mg/kgdw) with 2-and 3-ring PAHs being predominant with a concentration of 4.20 mg/kgdw in the three stations sampled, while 4-ring and 5-ring PAHs ranged from 1.15 to 1.74 and from 2.14-2.47 mg/kgdw respectively. The 6-ring PAHs were the least detected with a range of 0.20-1.52 mg/kgdw. Enrichment of mudflat samples with indigenous hydrocarbon degraders showed that the 5 bacterial species isolated from the sediment exhibited varying PAH utilizing potentials, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Micrococcus luteus were found to possess strong PAH degrading capabilities. A 100% degradation of Naphthalene was observed from Pseudomonas sp, this was followed by Bacillus subtilis (95%) and Micrococcus sp (93%), and similarly, Pseudomonas sp had the highest anthracene degrading potentials. Pseudomonas sp reduced the concentration of anthracene from 1.10mg/l (initial concentration) to 0.015mg/l (final concentration) showing a 98.6% degradation, while B. subtilis and Micrococcus sp reduced the same initial concentration to 0.076mg/l and 0.097 mg/l showing a 93.1% and 91.2% degradation respectively. Findings have shown that the fate of PAH suites including the dominant suite of PAHs (2-and 3-ring PAHs) in estuarine sediment is short-lived due to the presence of potent hydrocarbon degrading bacterial species which can sequester the recalcitrant hydrocarbons over time.

A microbial composition study of sediments of contaminated (CWS) and uncontaminated (UWS) lentic ecosystems within Akwa Ibom State was carried out by analyzing the small-subunit rRNA genes to determine the effect of hydrocarbon contamination on its microbial composition and diversity. Analysis of the V4 region of the community DNA from both sediments revealed the presence of bacteria, archaea and microalgae. Bacterial sequences outnumbered archaea and microalgae. Abundance of Proteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Burholderiales, Alcaligenaceae, and Achrombacter were observed in the CWS and Actinobacteria, Actinomycetales, Bacillaceae, and Bacillus in the UWS. Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota were also observed to be present in both sediments. The genus Achromobacter and Bacillus dominated in the

Phytochemical screening, mineral analysis and antimicrobial investigation of the leaf extracts of Chromolaena odorata was carried out in this study. The phytochemical screening revealed the content of various bioactive components such as saponin, tannin, flavonoid, anthraquinone and alkaloid. Mineral analysis revealed that Chromolaena odorata contains moderately high contents of calcium, sodium and magnesium. The leaves extracts were diluted to different concentrations 10%, 50% and 100% and the results revealed that growth of the organisms were inhibited at the highest concentration of the extract to the least concentration. Staphylococcus aureus exhibited the highest sensitivity with a zone of 17mm at 100% concentration, Escherichia coli had 15.3 mm and the least was Proteus vulgaris at 12.3 mm at same concentration. Antibiotic disc were also used for comparison, ciprofloxacin inhibited Escherichia coli with the zone of inhibition of 20 mm, and peflacine inhibited Klebsiella pneumonia at 15 mm. Pseudomonas aeruginosa 14 mm with no inhibition with Augmentin on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Gentamycin on Staphylococcus aureus and ampicillin on Klebsiella pneumonia. These findings revealed the content of bioactive components, rich mineral constituents and inhibition potential of Chromolaena odorata extracts on skin micro flora. This justifies the use of Chromolaena odorata in both medical and traditional medicine for the treatment of various ailments especially in wound healing and tissue damage.

Typhoid fever is one of the endemic diseases in the tropic and sub-tropics. In this study, blood and stool specimens were collected from 200 participants comprising of 100 male and 100 female aged between 11 to 41 years and above. Of this, 168 (84%) of the participants had significant titre in their blood while 182 (91%) discharged the organisms in their stools with female having a higher prevalence than male. Age prevalence study showed a high prevalence of Salmonella species in people aged between 16-20 years, followed by people aged between 21-25 years and least prevalence in people aged 31 years and above. The result of the antibiotic susceptibility profile showed that the isolates were sensitive to Gentamycin (98.4%), Ciprofloxacin (97.8%), Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (94.5%), Chloramphenicol (92.3%), Amikacin (89.0%) and Amoxycilin (56.0%) and resistance to Erythromycin (93.4%), Norfloxacin (91.2%) and Doxycyclin (77.5).

The settle plate culture technique was employed to estimate fungal loads of wastes dumpsite atmosphere in Uyo using Saboraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) and Dermatophytic Medium (DM) respectively for moulds/yeasts and dermatophytes respectively. The fungal contaminants included detectable loads of dermatophytic fungi. The estimated loads of fungi per volume of air revealed mean counts of 2.3 log CFU/m 3 and 0.89 log CFU/m 3 for fungi and dermatophytes respectively. Fungal spore loads were higher during the dry season with mean counts of 4.3 log CFU/m 3 although the average density of dermatophytes was slightly lower (0.8 log CFU/m 3). GIS model of spatial distribution of fungal contaminants including dermatophytes in the dumpsite atmosphere revealed a poor spatial distribution pattern. Localized and high number of contaminants were noticed in the South West region of the dumpsite during both seasons. However the numbers of mesophilic fungi obtained by the sedimentation technique were higher than APHA's standard (30 CFU/15 mins or 1.4 log cfu/m 3) for settling technique. A total of 25 fungal species comprising 17 hyphomycetes and 5 yeast species were encountered. Isolates included dermatophytic strains of Candida albicans, C. pseudotropicalis, Cladosprium sp, Penicillium citinum, Pichia sp, Microsporum and Trichophyton. The presence of dermatophytes in the air portends danger. These isolates elaborated bright red pigments on Dermatophyte Test Medium (DTM), an indication of their ability to cause superficial mycoses or dermatophytoses on susceptible humans. The public health risk is high because airborne fungal cells (yeasts, moulds, spores) can remain viable for much longer periods, even at low relative humidity and high or low temperature extremes.

Toxicity of raw and bio-slurry treated oily sludge (OS) on Nitrobacter species was determined using standard analytical procedures. The total petroleum content of the OS was 116.44 ± 3.57 g/kg. The TPH was rich with Saturate (40.46 ± 0.73 %). This was followed by Aromatics (27.94 ± 0.50 %) and Asphaltenes (26.58 ± 0.90 %), while NSO fraction had the least proportion (5.75 ± 0.47 %). Contamination of coastal soil with the OS increased the residual TPH concentration in the soil from 5.0561 ppm to 24.2305 ppm. The OS-ladened soil were subjected to biodegradation using 1.5-litter borosilicate glass bioreactors bioaugmented with single population of known OS utilizer (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and consortium of known OS utilizer and biosurfactant producing bacterial species (Bacillus subtilis). Findings revealed that he bioslurry augmented with the bacterial consortium reduced the concentration of the residual TPH in the soil to 6.313 ppm (73.95% reduction) while 11.5751 ppm (52.23%) was recorded for the single bacterial population. Findings also revealed that the consortium were able to remarkable reduce the toxicity of the raw OS (LC50 = 20.94 ppt) on Nitrobacter species. The LC50 for the consortium treated OS was 104.64 ppt while that of single bacterial population treatment was 36.25 ppt. The reduction in the toxicity of the OS treated with the bacterial consortium indicates the potentials of the synergistic action between the biosurfactant producer and OS utilizer to reduce OS toxicity. The findings of this study can be explored as a cost-effective method for oily sludge waste management in the Oil and Gas industry.

Phytochemical screening and antibacterial activities of seed extract of Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) against one gram-positive organism, Staphylococcus aureus and one gram-negative organism, Escherichia coli was carried out. The seed extracts were screened for the presence of tannins, saponins, terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids, amino acids and balsams. The agar well diffusion method was employed to determine the effect of the extracts on the growth of the test organisms. The results of the tests carried out on the seeds of Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) shows the phytochemical constituents of the seed extracts which showed the presence of terpenoids, tannins, balsams, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids and amino acids while saponins and steroids were absent. The results also showed that not all concentrations of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the sample had total inhibition on the growth of the tested organisms. However, the seed extracts inhibited the...

Phytochemical constituents' analysis of fruit peel extracts of Citrus reticulata, Citrus sinensis and Citrus limonum and their antimicrobial activity by testing them against clinically important microorganisms such as: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Shigella sp., Salmonella sp and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was carried out. From this study, the fruit peel extracts of these Citrus spp revealed that alkaloids was highly present in C. sinensis, moderate in C. limonum and found in trace concentration in C. reticulata. Phenols were moderately present in all the Citrus spp analyzed. Cardiac glycosides was absent in C. sinensis and C. reticulata and in trace concentration in C. limonum. The various citrus peels extract had antibacterial effect on all the test isolates. Extracts of C. limonum showed the highest antibacterial effect, this was followed by extract of C. reticulata while that of C. sinensis had the least antibacterial effect. The result of this study supports the fac...

Toxicity of raw and bio-slurry treated oily sludge (OS) on Nitrobacter species was determined using standard analytical procedures. The total petroleum content of the OS was 116.44 ± 3.57 g/kg. The TPH was rich with Saturate (40.46 ± 0.73 %). This was followed by Aromatics (27.94 ± 0.50 %) and Asphaltenes (26.58 ± 0.90 %), while NSO fraction had the least proportion (5.75 ± 0.47 %). Contamination of coastal soil with the OS increased the residual TPH concentration in the soil from 5.0561 ppm to 24.2305 ppm. The OS-ladened soil were subjected to biodegradation using 1.5-litter borosilicate glass bioreactors bioaugmented with single population of known OS utilizer (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and consortium of known OS utilizer and biosurfactant producing bacterial species (Bacillus subtilis). Findings revealed that he bioslurry augmented with the bacterial consortium reduced the concentration of the residual TPH in the soil to 6.313 ppm (73.95% reduction) while 11.5751 ppm (52.23%) was r...