Browsing by Author "Ncube, T."

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    A comparison of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms isolated from chicken and ostrich faeces in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
    (International Formulae Group., 2007) Siwela, Andrew H.; Matsaure, Fradereck; Ncube, T.; Olonitola, Olayeni S.; Best, Geoffrey R.
    Samples of fresh faeces were obtained from a free-range chicken source, three commercial chicken farms and a commercial ostrich farm, all located around Bulawayo City, Zimbabwe, in order to determine the antibiotic resistance profile of selected bacterial isolates of interest in food-related human infections. Samples were prepared at various dilutions and plated on selective media for Coryneforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas. The targeted bacteria were isolated as pure cultures and tested for antibiotic resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, oxytetracycline, sulphonamide, streptomycin and tetracycline. Isolates from the faeces of chickens and ostriches in the commercial farms were found to be generally more resistant to streptomycin, tetracycline and oxytetracycline as compared to those from the free- range chickens. This study emphasizes the need to monitor antibiotic resistance genes in the environment and to curb/curtail antibiotic use for growth promotion in farm animals, particularly in developing countries, as continued use will only add to the growing problem of microbial antibiotic resistance.
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    Consumer's views and use of labels on food items sold in Bulawayo urban province, Zimbabwe
    (African scholarly science communication trust., 2017-11) Ncube, T.; Makurunje, S; Dube, S.
    Food labels are a medium by which consumers acquire knowledge about packaged foods they are considering to purchase. The label makes the first impression about a product and has a great effect on the purchasing decision for consumers. In recent years, literate consumers have become interested in nutritional issues. Lifestyle, age, dietary and safety concerns have been the contributing factors to nutritional awareness by consumers. Nutritional labels can generally have a positive impact on food consumption and may save health-care costs for those consumers with health concerns. On the other hand, for those consumers who are illiterate, price may be more important in making purchase decisions. This study intended to investigate how consumers in Bulawayo Urban Province (Zimbabwe) view and use labels on packaged food items. Seventy-five randomly selected consumers were questioned about their perceptions, attitudes and use of label information using open ended structured questionnaires. The consumers were selected on the basis of being present at the supermarkets at the time of sampling. The respondents were interviewed at different times of the day to cater for employed and unemployed people. The results obtained indicate that the extent to which food labels are used depends on factors such as price of food products, individual health needs and gender. For consumers who use food labels to make their purchase decisions, not all the information on the label is considered. Items on the labels to which the consumers responded were brand, nutritional profile and mass of product in relation to the price. The label elements which were extensively used by consumers in this study are date mark (81.3%), weight of food (89.3%) and price (77.3%). The least used element is the nutritional panel (50.7%). About 44% of the consumers were not sure about the trustworthiness of the information given on food labels. Food labels are important to a greater extent for people with special dietary requirements, while the remainder of the studied population are influenced by price in their purchase decisions. Consumers seem not to understand some of the information on the food labels because of the difficulties in interpreting what is written.
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    Production of Cellulase by Solid State Fermentation of Brewery Spent Grains Using Aspergillus Niger FGSCa733
    (Zimbabwe Journal of Science & Technology, 2015) Ncube, T.; Moyo, N. P.; Sibanda, T.
    Brewery spent grains (BSG) is a waste product of the brewing process. BSG has been used as animal feed, production of value added products, substrate for growth of microorganisms and for extraction of proteins and acids. BSG is high in lignocellulosic matter and may be a candidate substrate for the production of lignocellulolytic enzymes (cellulases and xylanases). In this study, BSG was evaluated for use as a cheap and readily available substrate for the production of extracellular cellulase by Aspergillus niger FGSC A733 during solid state fermentation. The brewery spent grains were subjected to fermentation by Aspergillus niger FGSC A733 at different temperatures ranging from 30 - 40 °C and initial pH ranging from 4.0 - 6.0 for process optimization. Time course analysis was done to determine the optimum incubation period for maximum cellulase production. The effect of alkaline pre-treatment of the substrate on the production of cellulase was analyzed. Cellulase activity was determined by estimating the amount of reducing sugars produced by the enzymes using 3.5 dinitrosalycyclic acid (DNS). Maximum cellulase production was at 35 °C, pH 5.0 and an optimum incubation period of 72 hours. Under optimized conditions, a yield of 73.33 U of cellulase/gram of substrate was obtained. Pre-treatment of the spent grains resulted in a three-fold increase in the production of cellulase. BSG was found to be a suitable substrate for production of cellulase.