Abstract
Introduction: Fruits are good sources of vitamins, nutrients, minerals, micronutrients and fiber. However, fruits are usually eaten uncooked, which is hazardous for health as fruits are highly susceptible to microbial contamination during harvesting or postharvest processing.
Methods: Nine types of fruit that we usually eat without peeling were collected and tested them by using different standard microbiological methods. Biochemical and antibiogram tests were performed to confirm bacterial isolates and antibiotic-resistant patterns. An anthropometric assessment was also performed to evaluate whether common local fruits caused any prevalent digestive disorders.
Results: The highest Total Viable Count (TVC) was found in guava (1.95×105 CFU/g), whereas the highest Total Coliform Count (TCC) was identified in grapes (3.39×104 CFU/g). The mean value of TVC of all fruits was 7.112×103 CFU/g, and TCC was 6.02×102 CFU/g, respectively. Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and Vibrio spp. were confirmed by biochemical tests. Antibiogram study shows that these bacterial isolates were resistant to commercially available antibiotics. E. coli isolates were resistant to Penicillin (73.3%); Salmonella spp. isolates were resistant to Penicillin (80%) and Amoxicillin (80%). Vibrio spp. isolates were resistant to Penicillin (66.67%), Amoxicillin, and Erythromycin (60%). The anthropometric assessment showed that acidity occurs more frequently than abdominal pain and digestive disorder among the correspondents. In the case of male and female respondents, black plum and apple were mostly responsible for gastric acidity, and the frequencies were 41% to 45%, respectively.
Conclusion: Fruit is a natural source of vitamins and minerals which are essential for our health; at the same time, steps must be taken to ensure that they are free from pathogenic microbes. Therefore, public awareness of proper hygiene and good health is necessary.
Keywords: Total coliform count (TCC), Anthropometric, Antibiogram, Antibiotic-resistant, Motility Indole Urea (MIU), Kliger’s Iron Agar (KIA).
Graphical Abstract
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