Abstract

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Food borne Campylobacteriosis is distributed all over the world. Raw meats become contaminated during processing when intestinal contents come in contact with meat surfaces. The aim of the research is to study the occurrence and antimicrobial response pattern of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from beef and vegetables. Fifty (50) processed and unprocessed food samples (20 beef and 30 vegetables) were collected from different sites. The samples were subjected to aerobic bacterial counting and higher counts were obtained in unprocessed vegetables (3.80 x 106 cfu) and raw beef (2.22 x 106 cfu) samples. All the samples were inoculated on mCCDA, selective media for isolation of Campylobacter species. The isolates were confirmed to be Campylobacter jejuni using standard procedures. Extracts were subjected to phytochemical analyses for the detection of secondary metabolites. Alkaloids and flavonoids were generally present in all the extracts tested; while anthraquinone was conspicuously absent. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Syzigium aromaticum, Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale and Piper nigrum as well as commercially prepared antibiotics were tested against the bacterial isolates via disc diffusion techniques. Out of the 50 samples examined, 26% samples yielded Campylobacter spp., from which 8% were identified as Campylobacter jejuni. Statistical analysis revealed that there were significant differences in the bacterial count between raw and processed samples of beef (P = 0.004), cabbage (P = 0.019) and cucumber (P = 0.048), while there is no significant difference in bacterial count between unprocessed and processed lettuce samples (P = 0.058). S. aromaticum, Allium sativum, and Zingiber officinale extracts were active against Campylobacter jejuni. Among the antibiotics tested against C. jejuni, Ciproflaxacine (100%) and Erythromycin (100%) were active.

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