ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF BACTERIOLOGICAL COMPOSITION OF SOME SELECTED VEGETABLES LEAVES SOLD IN MARKETS

Vegetables are an essential dietary source of nutrients and fiber for the health and wellbeing of human beings. The demand for vegetables has increased substantially in recent years. However, research has linked vegetable consumption with various pathogenic bacteria that are of public health concern. The present study was designed to isolate and identify the bacteriological composition of fluted pumpkin, bitter leaf, and scent leaf commonly sold at various markets in Kogi State. These bacteria were studied using standard microbiological methods. The serial dilution method was employed. The result shows that the three samples of vegetables collected from different vendors contain the microbial load. Bitter leaf has the higher bacteria load, followed by pumpkin leaf with a moderate bacteria load, while scent leaf has the lowest plate count. The bacteria isolated are pseudomonas species, Bacillus, Erwinia spp, streptococcus. The sample contains an unacceptable number of bacteria recommended by the world health organization. Therefore, to safeguard the health of the final consumer, there should be proper washing of vegetables with clean water and disinfect the bacteria with sodium chloride(salt).