Isolation and Identification of Microbes Associated with Spoilage of African Star Apple (Chrysophyllum albidum Linn.) Sold in Markets in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

African star apple (Chrysophyllum albidum Linn.) belong to the order Ebernale and family Sapotaceae. The study was aimed at isolating and identifying microbes associated with spoilage of Africa Star Apple (Chrysophyllum albidum) commonly sold at Oba, Uselu and Ikpoba Hill markets in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Standard microbiological and biochemical techniques were used for the analysis. The results showed that viable bacterial counts of the spoilt cherry fruits ranged from 1.8×10³ ‑ 7.6×10³ cfu/g, 8.8×10² ‑5.4×10³ cfu/g and 8.7×10² ‑1.7×10³ cfu/g for spoilt cherry obtained from Oba market, Uselu market and Ikpoba Hill market. The fungal counts of spoilt cherry fruits ranged from 3.1×10³ ‑ 9.4×10³ cfu/g, 1.8×10³ ‑6.0×10³ cfu/g and 1.3×10³ ‑ 2.9×10³ cfu/g for spoilt cherry obtained from Oba market, Uselu market and Ikpoba Hill market. The bacterial isolates obtained were Klebsiella spp., Flavobacterium spp., Serratia spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Erwinia spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli. The fungal isolates identified from the spoilt cherry fruits were Saccharomyces spp., Aspergillus niger, Mucor spp., Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Aspergillus flavus and Geotrichum spp. Bacillus subtilis had the highest percentage occurrence, while Aspergillus niger was the most occurring fungal isolate. The least occurring bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus and Erwinia spp., while the least occurring fungal isolates were Geotrichum and Mucor spp. This study showed high level of contamination of cherry fruits by microbes during preharvest and postharvest period.