Microbial Contamination Potential and Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli Isolated from Ipomoea batatas Leaf

Abstract

Traditional leafy vegetables are recommended because there are important sources of nutrients and they protect against certain non-communicable diseases. This study aimed at assessing the microbiological quality of Ipomoea batatas leaves and evaluating the susceptibility to antibiotics of isolated S. aureus and E. coli strains. Heighten samples of I. batatas leaves collected were analyzed for research / enumeration of mesophilic total aerobic flora, enterobacteriaceae, yeasts, molds, fecal coliforms, fecal streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella strains and Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus. The microorganisms were identified using appropriate medium and classical biochemical tests. The susceptibility to eleven conventional antibiotics was investigated by the disk diffusion method. The I. batatas leaves showed high contamination by various flora, in particular flora indicative of general pollution (aerobic mesophilic germs, yeasts and molds, enterobacteria) and flora of fecal origin (fecal coliforms and fecal streptococcus). In addition, the presence of pathogenic species such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp. was noted in the samples analyzed. Globally, the highest resistance proportion has been observed with penicillin (~65%) and none of the S. aureus strains was resistant to vancomycin. From a microbiological point of view, Ipomoea batatas leaf intended for consumption is not suitable for human consumption. It is therefore important to educate producers to improve their production route in order to have better microbiological quality I. batatas leaves.