ABSTRACT
The oil contents and fatty acid composition of three non-edible seed oils extracted using Soxhlet extraction with hexane as the solvent were presented. The physical and chemical properties of the oils were determined from which cetane number, biofuel potential, higher heating values, and antimicrobial activities were assessed. The dominant fatty acids were 49 % linoleic acid, 37 % pentadecenoic acid, and 38 % cis-10-heptadecenenoic acid for Hura crepitans (HC), Thevetia nerifolia (TN) and Trichosanthes cucumerina (TC), respectively. The seed oils were majorly unsaturated, with HC having the highest degree of unsaturation. Acid value, saponification value, iodine value, and free fatty acids were low compared to many reported values in literature. The cetane values were generally high because the oils have a reasonable amount of saturated fatty acid, with TN having the highest cetane number. The low iodine value and saponification value make the biofuel potential and higher heating value to be high with TN having the highest in both and thus the best seed oil for biofuel. However, TN and HC have no antimicrobial activity to Klebsiella pneumoniae (gram -ve), Staphylococcus aureus (gram +ve), Escherichia coli (gram -ve), Bacillus subtilis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Candida albican, Rhizopus stolonifer, Fusarium Solani, Aspergillus flavus and Candida tropicalis, while TC has broad spectrum of activity against all tested bacteria and fungi, except Klebsiella pneumoniae.
ABSTRACT
@#Introduction Burkholderia pseudomallei are the causative agent for melioidosis, a disease which affects both humans and animals. This study investigated the occurrence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the final effluent of some hospitals in Akoko metropolis, Ondo State, Nigeria. Methods Culture based approach using the Inositol Brilliant Green Bile agar for isolation Burkholderia Pseudomallei was employed. A preliminary oxidase strip test was carried out on all the isolates and they were found to be oxidase positive. Presumptive isolates were purified and confirmed using Microbact™ 24E Identification kit. Antibiotics susceptibility of the confirmed isolates was also determined using the CLSI recommended first line antibiotics for Burkholderia Pseudomallei. Results A total number of 155 presumptive Burkholderia species were recovered from thirty six different samples over a period of three months from effluent of three selected hospitals. Moreover, 67% of the recovered isolates were confirmed to be Burkholderia pseudomallei. Most isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime and ofloxacin but exhibited resistance against tetracycline and meropenem. Conclusions The persistence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the hospital environment throughout the sampling regime requires intervention strategies to eradicate the prevalence of this notable pathogen in all possible reservoirs within the hospital environment. Besides, the emergence of resistance particularly to tetracycline and carbapenems points at potential public health implications. Furthermore, surveillance of Burkholderia species with its antibiogram profiles in clinical environments and adequate treatment of hospital effluents before disposal is very important to avert potential outbreak of melioidosis because the main reservoir for B. pseudomallei is contaminated environments. Keywords