Detoxification of Bacterial Toxins in Soured Soups Using the Extract of Aidan Tree (Tetrapleura Tetraptera L.) Fruit

Abstract

The study evaluated the use of Tetrapleura tetraptera fruit extract to detoxify bacterial toxins in soured soups. Tetrapleura tetraptera fruit extracts were prepared and analyzed for phytochemicals. Three different types of soured soups (egusi, ogbono, and Abua native soup) were used. The soups were prepared and left for 24 hours at room temperature to sour. The pour-plate method and streaking techniques were used to isolate and identify the bacteria. The lateral flow assay device, Biothreat Alert test strip, and enzyme immunoassay kits were used to detect the bacterial toxins, while the extracts were used to test the detoxifying effectiveness of the bacterial toxins. The results showed that Lactobacillus sp, Bifidobacterium sp, Streptococcus sp, Pediococcus sp, Leuconostoc sp Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter jejuni, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes were associated with the soured soups; alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, steroids, tannins, and terpenoids were present. The quantity of saponin (5.670±0.15), steroid (4.102±0.13), terpenoid (3.194±0.03), and alkaloid (0.596± 0.01) were very high in concentrations; phenol (0.373±0.02) and tannin (0.366±0.02) were present in moderately high concentrations, while cardiac glycoside (0.007± 0.00) and flavonoid (0.073±0.00) were present in low concentrations. The toxins detected in the soured soups included Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus exotoxins. Therefore, it is concluded that the extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera has no detoxifying effect on the stability of the bacterial toxins and should, therefore, be discouraged.