PRESERVATIVE, ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIALS OF PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA L. GEL AND ITS ETHANOLIC EXTRACT AGAINST MICROORGANISMS FROM RAW MEAT AND FISH

Abstract

This study assessed the microbial quality of raw meat; namely: beef (Bos taurus), chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), pork (Sus scrofa domesticus), chevon (Capra aegagrus hircus) and fish; namely: mackerel (Scomber scombrus), horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), herrings (Clupea pallasii), blue whiting (Merluccius merluccius), and croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) sold in five markets in Akure metropolis. The antibiotic susceptibility pattern of the isolated microorganisms from raw meat and fish towards different commercial antibiotics were determined using standard microbiological methods. The preservative efficacy of Phoenix dactylifera gel on the raw meat and fish was determined. Antimicrobial properties, proximate, phytochemical and bioactive components of Phoenix dactylifera gel was as well evaluated. The bacterial count obtained from raw meat and fish samples ranged from 1.3×104 cfu/ml to 8300.0×104 cfu/ml and 2.10×104 cfu/ml to 5.30 × 104 cfu/ml respectively. Lower fungal count compared to the bacterial count of 1.0×102 sfu/ml to 1.3×102 sfu/ml was obtained for pork, horse mackerel and croaker. The microbial isolates obtained from examined samples include Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Aeromonas hydrophila, Mucor mucedo, Geotrichum sp. and Penicillium sp. Escherichia coli had the highest bacterial occurrence of 26.5 % while Micrococcus luteus had the lowest value of 3.10%. Penicillium notatum and Mucor mucedo had the highest fungal occurrence of 1.50%, while Geotrichum sp. had the least occurrence of 0.78%. The isolated microorganisms displayed varied degrees of resistance (35.3% to 100%) to commonly used commercial antibiotics of which Pseudomonas aeruginosa had 100% resistance to six major antibiotics while Salmonella typhii and Micrococcus luteus had 100% resistance to three major antibiotics. The meat and fish samples were preserved with Phoenix dactylifera gel for three days before deterioration on the 4th to 5th day with inhibition of microbial growth. The preserved meat and fish were subjected to sensory evaluation and the preserved samples from day 1 to 3 had good shelf life and overall acceptability. The preservative efficacy of Phoenix dactylifera on raw meat and fish showed its potential for being used as a bio preservative agent for raw meat and fish.