Water is one of the crucial necessities of man since it is needed for almost all of his activities. With increase in population growth, quality water needed for consumption by man is on the decline because of environmental pollution. Thus the main aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence level of E. coli O157:H7 in water bodies in Ile-Ife and its environs which are the sources of water for man's consumption. Four hundred and fifty-one samples were investigated from five major sources of water namely; well, stream, borehole, bottled and sachet. The water samples were screened for E. coli and serologically characterized for E. coli O157:H7. The E. coli O157:H7 isolates obtained were further characterized for stx 1, stx 2 and eaeA genes. The result revealed that well water and stream water had a prevalence of 8.74% and 4.59% respectively. Antibiotic resistance profile of E. coli isolates showed that both sources harboured isolates that are resistant to three classes of antibiotics. The virulence gene distribution shows that stx 1 and stx 2 were present in all the E. coli O157:H7 investigated. In conclusion, it appears that the gastroenteritis outbreaks experienced in the study area may be due to the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in water samples.

Mushrooms are fungi that are unique in the recycling of plant biomass through decomposition in the process of which they also serve as food for man. These functions are carried out through the extracellular digestion of plant biomass with a consortium of enzymes. This study examined the effect of carbon-nitrogen ratios (C/N) of three lignocellulosic substrates, namely, corncob (C/N 120:1), sawdust (C/N 325:1) and waste paper (C/N 400:1) on the yield of Pleurotus pulmonarius. The experimental design was factorial laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Tissue culture was made on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) which was transferred to boiled sorghum grains for spawn making. The substrates were pasteurized and then inoculated with P. pulmonarius. Substrates were pasteurized (immersed in hot water for 3 hours) and inoculated with P. pulmonarius. Proximate analysis of the fruiting bodies was done to determine crude protein, crude fat, moisture content, dry matter, ash, crude fiber and carbohydrate. Carbon-nitrogen (C/N) ratio of the substrates was also determined. Corncob has C/N ratio of 120:1. The yield performance of corncob was the highest for weight (86 ± 0.01 g), length of stipe (3.55 ± 0.04 cm) and diameter of pileus (7.3 ± 0.07 cm). Means separation by least significant difference (LSD) showed that the yield parameters for corncob were statistically different from other substrates used.The proximate analysis of dried P. pulmonarius showed that corncob had a protein content of 17.37% ± 0.80% and moisture content of 0.69% ± 0.01% respectively, while sawdust and corncob had crude fibre contents of 1.79 ± 0.02 and 1.79 ± 0.01 respectively. Conclusively, having an idea of the carbon-nitrogen ratio of the substrate to be used for mushroom cultivation, manipulating the nutritional composition of mushrooms can be enhanced by enriching the growth substrates/media.

Amaranthus viridis is known to have excellent nutritional value because of its high content of essential micronutrients which are considered heat labile, thus little or no heat is applied during its preparation to destroy microbial contaminants acquired during planting, harvesting or processing. This study was conducted to characterize pathogenic bacteria isolated from freshly sold Amaranthus viridis and determine their susceptibilities to commonly used antibiotics. Fresh, green and firm Amaranthus viridis were collected at different retail and cultivation sites across Ife Central Local Government Area of Ile–Ife and microbiologically assayed for the presence of pathogenic bacteria such as Shigella species and Escherichia coli using standard methods described by APHA. The result shows that 21 isolates were recovered of which 7 isolates showed characteristics of Shigella which appear colourless without a black centre on SSA and 5 isolates were typical of Escherichia coli with characteristic green metallic sheen on EMB agar. The isolates were all sensitive to ofloxacilin, more than 86% of the isolated Shigella spp. and Escherichia coli exhibited multi resistance to other antibiotics especially nitrofurantoin and amoxicillin. This study concludes that the freshly sold Amaranthus viridis in Ile-Ife were contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, hence, the result creates awareness on the dangers of consuming these vegetables.