ISOLATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF ENDOPHYTIC BACTERIA IN ALLIUM CEPA AGAINST ISOLATED FOOD SPOILAGE PATHOGENS

ABSTRACT Food is a basic necessity for human survival. Food will be required to feed Nigeria's rapidly growing population, which is predicted to reach 400 million by 2050. Humans may experience nausea and vomiting due to food-borne diseases. This study set out to identify endophytic bacteria and assess their antibacterial efficacy against isolated foodborne pathogens using endophytic bacteria obtained from Allium capa. Endophytic bacteria and bacteria found in spoiled food were identified using molecular, biochemical, and cultural methods. The results of the testing showed that Proteus and Bacillus sp. were the suspected isolated endophytic bacteria, and Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus sp., and Staphylococcus aureus were identified as food-borne pathogens from the spoilt noodles. Proteus hauseri was identified as the endophytic bacterium through the analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence. Proteus hauseri and a few chosen bacteria have evolutionary similarities and differences that were brought to light by the phylogenetic tree. Using the agar well diffusion method, the antibacterial activity of the metabolites produced from these microorganisms was assessed. The endophytes under test demonstrated antibacterial activity against the isolated food pathogens, with inhibition zones varying between 6.15±0.05 and 25.30±0.04. This study shows that endophytic bacteria from Alium capa have the potential to replace chemically generated antibiotics in the fight against food-borne diseases. The frequency of foodborne disease cases will decrease if everyone involved receives adequate food safety education. In order to combat foodborne infections, endophytic bacteria may be the key to treatment development.