Project Materials

PARASITOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF SOME READY TO EAT FRUITS SOLD A CASE STUDY OF OYE EMENE ENUGU STATE NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Some locally available fruits include garden eggs, oranges, bananas, guava, avocado, pawpaw, and pineapple. Parasite contamination was detected in products sold in Oye Emene Enugu, Enugu State. A total of 87 samples were tested utilising sedimentation and concentration procedures. 11 (12.6%) of the 87 fruits tested positive for intestinal parasites under a microscope. Among these fruits, guava had the most intestinal parasites (6 (35.3% positive), while banana had the fewest (2.8%). Parasites found on pineapple and watermelon included Ascaris lumbricoides ova (8.2%), Amoeba cysts (10%), and yeast cells. There is no substantial difference between the two procedures. The current study found a considerable degree of pathogenic parasite contamination in fruits from several locations in Oye Emene, Enugu, Enugu State, indicating that consuming inadequately washed fruits carries a high risk of acquiring intestinal parasites.

Chapter One

Introduction

Fruits are an important horticulture crop for a healthy human diet. In several parts of the world, fruits are the primary nutritional staple. Aside from being a good source of vitamins and minerals, fruit cultivation has a considerable impact on regional and national economies through national and international trade. The term fruit has a variety of connotations depending on the context.

A fruit is a matured ovary accompanied by seeds from a flowering plant. Fruits are the way by which flowering plants spread seeds (Lewis, 2002).

When food items are referred to as “fruits” in gastronomy, the phrase is most commonly used to refer to edible, sweet, and fresh plants, such as apples and citrus fruits. Fruits are grown in regions where the environmental conditions are favourable for their development.

Emene in Enugu state is considered one of the regions with good cultivating land for high fruit yields, which are mainly done during the rainy season or with irrigation during the dry season.

Irrigation water is obtained from various sources such as lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds, which may be contaminated by animal and human faeces.

Because of the huge quantity of eggs, cysts, and larvae of human intestinal parasites found in waste water, using excreta polluted water poses a health concern to both farmers and consumers who eat raw and fresh food such as apples, guava, pear, and mango (Scolf, 1992).

Pollination is an important aspect of fruit culture, and in a few species, fruits can develop without pollination/fertilization, a process known as “parthernocarpy”; these fruits are seedless (Mauseth & James 2003).

Many foods are botanically classified as fruits but are cooked and prepared as veggies. Examples include tomatoes, eggplant, pumpkin and pears (Mcgee and Harold 2004). Ethylene causes ripening of fruits.

There are three kinds of fruits.

1. Simple fruit.

2. Combine fruit and

3. Several fruits

Simple fruits, such as carrots, wheat, tomatoes, avocados, and bananas, can be dried or fresh. Examples of aggregation fruits include pineapple, breadfruit, and so on.

Some fruits, such as the unicorn plant, have spikes or hooked burrs on their coats to keep animals from eating them or to act as a dispersal agent.

Many fruits are used to make beverages, including fruit juice (orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, and so on) and alcoholic beverages like wine and brandy. Apples are commonly used to produce vinegar.

According to Mcgee (2004), fruits are infected with parasites, and some parasite infections that have a direct life cycle and do not require an intermediary host to infect a new host occur through fecal-oral transmission.

Infections contracted through direct ingestion of an infective egg or cyst are inextricably connected to the quality of personal cleanliness and sanitation in the community.

Factors such as a lack of latrines and proper sewage disposal facilities have been shown to contribute to the spread of parasite infections, resulting in widespread food contamination. Infection can spread by infected unwashed fingers, insects, cash circulation, and wind during the dry season.

Fruits contaminated with eggs and cysts, particularly those sold by fruit vendors, may also be a source of infection for consumers. These parasites are Entamoeba histolystica, Giardia duodenace, Trichuris trichura, Ascaris Lumbricoides, and Benterobius vermiculais. (WHO, 2000).

Amoebiasis is estimated to cause approximately 450 million infections per year in developing countries, with an incidence of between 50 million and 100,000 deaths. Giardiasis is more common in youngsters, with a worldwide prevalence of approximately 130% (Wov and Paterson, 1986).

Ascaris is the most prevalent human nematode, particularly in tropical Africa, with a frequency of over 40% in Enugu State (Reonthalaer, 1988). And it could be as high as 96-100% in rural Enugu State. These parasites’ eggs and cysts have a significant impact on epidemiology due to their resistance.

Ascaris eggs are viable for up to six years. (Njom,2002). Many people who consume fresh fruit as part of a healthy diet are likely to have a lower risk of certain chronic diseases.

Eating a fruit and vegetable-rich diet lowers the risk of stroke, diabetes, certain cancers (mouth), heart disease, kidney stone formation, and bone loss.

Fruit lowers the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during foetal development (Ayer, 2001). Fruits are extremely important for human consumption, particularly in terms of health. Parasites that affect fruits must be controlled in a proper manner so that they do not affect those that are of medium importance.

The primary method for determining the appropriate intervention stops to reduce the population of pathogenic microorganisms on fruits is to identify sources of contamination and the ecology of the pathogens as affected by processing practices.

Disease-causing organisms such as Samonella, cryptosporidium, cyclospora, and Giardia have been transmitted through fresh fruits (Sushow, 1997). The use of disinfectants such as chlorine in wash water can also help to prevent host harvest disease and foodborne illnesses.

The evaluation of these medically important parasites found in fruits will be based on an understanding of the factors that contribute to their spread, such as the activities of fruit vendors at Orie emene market, which will then have an impact on the distribution of these parasites.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To identify a medically significant parasite in fruit sold at the Orie Emene market in Enugu State.

2. Determine whether washing fruits with untreated water removes medically important parasites (pathogenic parasites).

3. Determine whether it is safe to eat fruits without washing them, as some people do.