ISOLATION

Lecture theatre tables serve as potential reservoirs for bacterial contamination, posing a risk of microbial transmission among students and staff. This study aimed to isolate and identify bacterial species from tables in lecture theatres within the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin. Total heterotrophic bacterial counts were determined over two weeks, with values ranging from 1.88 ± 1.00 × 10⁴ cfu/cm² to 3.80 ± 0.53 × 10⁴ cfu/cm². The highest bacterial load was recorded in the Microbiology Lecture Theatre (3.80 ± 0.53 × 10⁴ cfu/cm² in Week 2), while the lowest was observed in the Optometry Lecture Theatre (1.88 ± 1.00 × 10⁴ cfu/cm² in Week 1). Biochemical characterization and standard taxonomic references identified six bacterial genera: Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus. Among these, Staphylococcus spp. (31%) exhibited the highest occurrence, while Pseudomonas spp. (10%) had the lowest. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed varying resistance patterns, with Bacillus spp. being the most sensitive, whereas Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli displayed resistance to multiple antibiotics. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index ranged from 0.2 to 0.4, with Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli exhibiting the highest resistance. The findings underscore the need for regular sanitation of lecture theatre surfaces to mitigate the risk of bacterial transmission and potential health implications.

The study focused on the extraction, phytochemical screening, isolation, and characterization of Hibiscus Sabdariffa. The cold extraction was conducted to extract the plant sample using methanol as solvent. The crude extract was concentrated in a rotary evaporator. A portion of the extract was screened for phytochemicals while the other portion was subjected to vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) , using solvent systems of varying polarity ;from Hexane, Ethyl acetate , Methanol ,and Butanol of increasing polarity respectively .A Brown precipitate was obtained after the concentration of Butanol extract and characterization was done by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Saponins, alkaloids, and terpenes were detected. However, from the HPLC myrtilin, Linalool, lycopene, where present amongst others. The study shows that H. Sabdariffa contains useful phytochemicals which are implicated as medicinal uses.

With the poultry sector being among the fastest growing agro-based industries world-wide, the poultry farms have emerged as a perspective and widely distributed business industry in Nigeria. However the global increase in the incidence of food borne illnesses with poultry and its products being a major contributor to these infections has become a major challenge to poultry farming. The aim of this study is to isolate and identify different enteric bacteria, find the antimicrobial sensitivity profile against the pathogens isolated from selected poultry farms in Benin city, Edo state. A total of fifteen (15) freshly voided fecal sample were collected aseptically from different poultry farms. The samples were cultured on selective and differential media including Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar, MacConkey agar, Salmonella shigella (SS) agar and bacterial isolate were identified based on cultural, morphological and biochemical properties. Antibiotic sensitivity test was carried using Kirby-Buer disk diffusion method. The total heterotrophic bacterial counts obtained from the fecal sample ranged from 1.00 × 106 CFU/g to 65.00 × 106 CFU/g. Five bacterial species were identified: Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Proteus mirabilis. Among the identified bacterial isolate Escherichia coli had the highest frequency of (53.33%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca with a total frequency of (66.67%), Salmonella sp. with a frequency of (26.67%) while Proteus miribilis had the lowest frequency of (4.35%). E. coli and Klebsiella spp. demonstrated resistance to most βlactams, while Salmonella spp. were resistant to β-lactams and gentamicin (aminoglycoside) but showed low susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin). Proteus mirabilis was resistant to all antibiotics tested. Overall, over 80.00% of isolates exhibited resistance to at least two antibiotic classes. These findings underscore the presence of multidrug-resistant enteric bacteria in poultry environments and highlight the need for improved antibiotic stewardship, surveillance, and farm biosecurity.

With the poultry sector being among the fastest growing agro-based industries world-wide, the poultry farms have emerged as a perspective and widely distributed business industry in Nigeria. However the global increase in the incidence of food borne illnesses with poultry and its products being a major contributor to these infections has become a major challenge to poultry farming. The aim of this study is to isolate and identify different enteric bacteria, find the antimicrobial sensitivity profile against the pathogens isolated from selected poultry farms in Benin city, Edo state. A total of fifteen (15) freshly voided fecal sample were collected aseptically from different poultry farms. The samples were cultured on selective and differential media including Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar, MacConkey agar, Salmonella shigella (SS) agar and bacterial isolate were identified based on cultural, morphological and biochemical properties. Antibiotic sensitivity test was carried using Kirby-Buer disk diffusion method. The total heterotrophic bacterial counts obtained from the fecal sample ranged from 1.00 × 106 CFU/g to 65.00 × 106 CFU/g. Five bacterial species were identified: Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Proteus mirabilis. Among the identified bacterial isolate Escherichia coli had the highest frequency of (53.33%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca with a total frequency of (66.67%), Salmonella sp. with a frequency of (26.67%) while Proteus miribilis had the lowest frequency of (4.35%). E. coli and Klebsiella spp. demonstrated resistance to most βlactams, while Salmonella spp. were resistant to β-lactams and gentamicin (aminoglycoside) but showed low susceptibility to fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin). Proteus mirabilis was resistant to all antibiotics tested. Overall, over 80.00% of isolates exhibited resistance to at least two antibiotic classes. These findings underscore the presence of multidrug-resistant enteric bacteria in poultry environments and highlight the need for improved antibiotic stewardship, surveillance, and farm biosecurity.

The scalp hair is composed of soft tissue layers that cover the cranium. This study focused on isolation, identification and antibiogram of bacteria isolates from scalp hair. With the aid of a sterile swab sticks, nine scalp hair of undergraduates’ students were swabbed and transported to the laboratory for bacteriological analysis. All the samples were analyzed within 24hrs of collection. Collected swabbed stick was submerged in a sterile test tubes label A – I contained Nutrient broth and incubated for 2hrs. 1ml was plated from each test tube. It was then incubated at 37 0 C for 24hours. The result of the bacteria isolated include; Staphylococcus epidermis 6 (15%), Staphylococcus aureus 6 (15%), Pseudomonas sp. 2(5%), Bacillus sp. 18(45%), Streptococcus spp. 5(12.5%) and Micrococcus spp. 3(7.5%). Haemolysin test on the strains of Staphylococcus auraeus Streptococcus sp. Staphylococcus epidermis, Micrococcus spp. and Psuedomonas sp. revealed they had β hemolytic activity and only strains of Bacillus spp. showed α hemolytic activity. While the gelatin test showed that all isolates produce gelatinase enzyme which breakdown gelatin. The antibiogram results revealed that All isolates were highly sensitive to ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin and clindamycin 40(100%). Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin and clindamycin was proved to be the most effective against Gram positive and Gram-negative isolates studied in this work. Contamination of scalp hair from this research, could be from poor hand hygiene and environmental hygiene.

Herbal mixtures are widely consumed in many developing countries due to their perceived therapeutic benefits, affordability, and accessibility. However, poor preparation and storage practices increase the risk of microbial contamination. This study aims to isolate and identify the microorganisms present in selected herbal mixtures sold at Uselu, New Benin and Ring Road Market in Benin City, Edo state. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on herbal preparations collected from the three major markets. Microbiological assessment was performed to determine bacterial load and isolate species. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out using standard disc diffusion techniques, and statistical analyses were applied to evaluate differences across dosage forms and locations. The overall mean bacterial load was 7.92 × 10⁷ CFU/ml. Powdered forms exhibited the highest mean load (1.33 × 10⁸ CFU/ml), followed by liquid forms (6.53 × 10⁷ CFU/ml), while paste formulations showed no detectable growth. Variations across dosage forms (p = 0.331) and market locations (p > 0.05) were not statistically significant. Bacillus subtilis was the most prevalent isolate (8 occurrences), followed by Klebsiella spp. (3), Bacillus cereus (2), and Staphylococcus aureus (2), with Pseudomonas aeruginosa identified once. Antibiotic susceptibility revealed complete sensitivity to Azithromycin and Levofloxacin (100%) and high sensitivity to Pefloxacin (76.5%). Moderate sensitivity was recorded for Gentamycin, Rifampicin, and Erythromycin (52.9%), while reduced activity was observed for Zidovudine (29.4%) and
Ampicillin (41.2%). Amoxicillin showed the lowest effectiveness, with resistance in 82.4% of isolates, confirmed by its minimal inhibition zone (4.41 ± 2.38 mm). The strongest inhibition zones were produced by Levofloxacin (19.06 ± 1.32 mm) and Azithromycin (16.94 ± 1.68 mm). In Conclusion, Locally marketed herbal mixtures in Benin City were found to harbor diverse bacterial contaminants, predominantly Bacillus subtilis. Although no significant differences were observed across dosage forms or market locations, the presence of pathogenic bacteria and high resistance to commonly used antibiotics such as Amoxicillin emphasizes it’s potential health risks.

This study focused on isolating and identifying fungal species associated with agricultural farmland soil in UNIBEN. Soil samples were collected in sterile plastic ziplock bags from selected agricultural farmlands in Benin City, Edo State, and were subsequently transported to the laboratory for fungal identification. The identification of fungal isolates was conducted using cultural and morphological methods. The results indicated that total fungal counts of soil samples collected from the selected farmlands ranged from 5.70±0.42 to 12.50±1.56. The highest fungal counts were observed in Farm 2 (12.50±1.56), followed by Farm 5 (8.70±0.71), while Farm 4 exhibited the lowest count at 5.70±0.42. The identified fungal isolates included Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma sp., Penicillium sp., Rhizopus arrhizus, and Mucor mucedo. The percentages of occurrence for these fungal isolates varied from 7.14% to 28.57%. Aspergillus niger had the highest occurrence rate at 28.57%, followed by Trichoderma sp. and Penicillium sp., each at 21.43%, while Rhizopus arrhizus had the lowest occurrence at 7.14%. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding the dynamics of fungal populations within these agricultural soils to inform management strategies aimed at enhancing soil health. By monitoring these microbial communities, farmers at these sites can adopt more effective agronomic practices that capitalize on beneficial fungi while minimizing the impact of pathogenic species.

This research work evaluated the geospatial data need for the design of a good road profile using Global navigation satellite system as a tool that will serve the purpose of safety, capacity and aesthetics considerations Before getting the geospatial for the geometric design of the study area, thorough survey of the site was carried out using the dumping level to obtain the coordinate of the point along the study area, The GNSS was used to obtain the geospatial data of the study area, The design consideration includes: the composition of the traffic, the speed and the management of accessible road. Based on the use, the offset from both sides of the road is determined from the centerline point where the road will be placed. A road offset of 2.85 meters results from the carriageway width of 6.5 meters for the Police station road. A 1.75m-wide shoulder was made available to use as a parking lane, walkway, and covered drain. Ample care was made in the plot to prevent any road segments from crossing in the university of Aerial photography or remote sensing data obtained from space satellites that depict a graphical perspective of the land region are other significant design aids employed for this project. Geospatial data are designed to uniquely specify the positions of features on the earth's surface Geospatial data must be acquired in order to plan, construction, and manage the mad infrastructure, which is vital to humans use. These data come from a variety of sources, BNH including aerial photos, topographic maps, satellite images, and hand-drawn maps. For the collection, processing, and display of geographic data, optimal techniques are applied, which result in significant time and financial savings.

This present study focused on isolation and identification of bacteria isolated from urine sample of undergraduate students at the University of Benin, Benin City. A total of fifteen (15) urine samples were collected and transported to the laboratory for bacteriological analysis. The total bacteria count ranged from 6.2 × 10 5 CFU/ml - 8.0 × 10
5 CFU/ml. Bacterial species isolated includes Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Proteus mirabilis. E. coli was the most predominant isolate accounting for about (55%) followed by S. aureus (25%), S. saprohyticus (15%) and P. mirabilis (5%). The antibiotic susceptibility to antibacterial agent revealed that of S. aureus all the isolates were (100%) resistant to Zinnacef and Cephalexin while they were (100%) sensitive to ciprofloxacin. S. saprohyticus 15(100%) were resistant to cephalexin and (100%) sensitive to ciprofloxacin. E. coli and P. mirabilis susceptibility test revealed that 5(5%) of P. mirabilis showed resistance to Cephalexin and Septrin and was sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Amoxicillin and Augmentin. however, 55(100%) of E. coli were resistant to cephalexin, moderate sensitivity to septrin and (100%) sensitivity to
ciprofloxacin. The isolates were also tested for their ability to produce gelatinize. All bacterial isolates produced gelatinize. The ability of the bacterial isolates obtained to produce gelatinize is of a serious medical importance as this may have contributed to the multi-drug resistance of the isolates and as such, further research should be carried out to discover new antibiotics effective against these organisms.

Sodium alginate is a commonly used encapsulation matrix for variety of materials such as plant cells, food products, oil and flavor. This compound is biodegradable, biocompatible and non-toxic. Also, it is cheap, available, has chelating ability and forms stable reversible gels. However, plant extracts have challenges of poor utilization, poor stability, chemical degradation, low bioavailbility and high molecular weight. Therefore, this study was aimed at isolation, characterization and use of sodium alginate nanoparticles to encapsulate acetogenin compound isolated from Annona muricata leaf. Sodium alginate nanoparticles loaded with acetogenin compound were prepared and characterized using Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscope (FTIR). TEM revealed a spherical and irregular nature of sodium alginate nanoparticles loaded with acetogenin compound with particle size of 280nm. The encapsulation efficiency was 89% and this result shows that encapsulation in nanosized matrics with different concentrations of sodium alginate nanoparticles produced higher encapsulation efficiencies which therefore, enhances solubility, biovailability of acetogenin compound.