Jatropha curcas is an ornamental plant which is also employed to cure various infections in traditional medicine. The hexane, ethanolic and aqueous extracts and latex of this plant were analysed phytochemically and screened against different microorganisms responsible for various human infections. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts and latex revealed the presence of many secondary metabolites including steroids, alkaloids and saponins. Ethanolic extract was found to be richer than hexane extract and aqueous extract as well as latex. The extracts and latex displayed potent antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Neisseria gonorrhoea, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus flavus, giving minimum inhibitory concentration as low as 0.5 mL. The results confirmed the potency of this plant in treating human infections including sexually transmitted diseases.

Background. Gastroenteritis due to foodborne disease is a leading cause of death in developing countries. In Nigeria, there is an increasing demand for beef. Yet, there is no surveillance for Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination of raw beef and little is known about the carriage of this pathogen in Nigeria’s livestock. Methods. A total of 415 samples, including 180 cow carcass swabs, 180 caecal content samples, 16 water samples, 25 hand swabs and 14 knife swabs were collected at a large abattoir in the Moro region of Kwara State, Nigeria. The samples were enriched in modified tryptone broth containing novobiocine, and plated onto Sorbitol–MacConkey agar (Oxoid SR0172E) supplemented with 0.05 mg l−1 cefixime and 2.5 mg l−1 potassium tellurite (Oxoid) (CT-SMAC). Indole-producing isolates were confirmed serologically by serotyping with antisera specific for the O157 and H7 antigens. The E. coli O157:H7 isolates were further tested for their susceptibility to antibiotic agents using the disc diffusion method. Commercially available Gram-negative multi-discs (Oxoid) comprising nitrofurantoin (30 µg), ampicillin (5 µg), ceftazidime (30 µg), gentamicin (10 µg), ciprofloxacin (5 µg), augmentin (30 µg), ofloxacin (5 µg) and cefuroxime (30 µg) were tested. Results. Overall, 16 (3.9 %) samples were contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, of which 10 (5.6 %) were isolated from carcass swabs, 4 (2.2 %) from caecal content samples and 2 (12.5 %) from water. All isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), with resistance to ampicillin, ceftazidime and cefuroxime being the most common. Conclusion. This study provides evidence to suggest that E. coli O157:H7 exists in the beef production chain. The pathogen reveals a high frequency of multidrug resistance, suggesting that consumers and handlers of such meat are at risk of contracting antibiotic-resistant E. coli O157:H7-associated foodborne disease. Routine monitoring of antibiotic resistance is critical to uncovering novel therapeutic strategies that will help inform clinical practice guidelines.

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The antimicrobial activities of the aqueous, ethanol and n-hexane fruit pulp extracts of Dialium guineense were evaluated against clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis and Candida albicans using the agar well diffusion technique. The results reveal that the crude aqueous and ethanol extracts possess antimicrobial activities on the tested organisms with the exception of n-hexane extract which showed no zone of inhibition. The highest zone of inhibition diameter at 24.67 mm of the ethanol extract and 19.33 mm of the aqueous extract was recorded against C. albicans while S. aureus showed the lowest inhibition zone to the aqueous extract with 7.33 mm in diameter. However, statistical analysis indicates no significance as P>0.05. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the aqueous and ethanol extracts to the isolates was between 100 -200 mg/ml with only C. albicans at 50 mg/ml of the ethanol extract. Also, the minimum lethal concentration (MLC) of the aqueous and ethanol extracts on majority of the organisms was above 200 mg/ml but P. aeruginosa and P. mirabilis showed MLC at 200 mg/ml and, C. albicans at 100 mg/ml of the ethanol extract. Meanwhile, only C. albicans showed MLC to the aqueous extract at 100 mg/ml. In addition, the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannin, saponins, oxalates and glycosides. The results of this work suggest further exploitation of the fruit pulp of D. guineense to possibly unveil its potential use for the treatment of diseases.

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