[01] Mercy Nwakaego Ezeunala, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Idu, Abuja, Nigeria. [02] Ephraim Ibeabuchi Ezaka, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Idu, Abuja, Nigeria. [03] Okafor Rachel Adaeze, Department of Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria. [04] Uche Alex Osunkwo, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Idu, Abuja, Nigeria. [05] Moses Okonkwo Njoku, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Idu, Abuja, Nigeria.

A study on the density and prevalence of geohelminth in date fruits and tiger nuts in was carried out between May and August, 2017 in Abuja metropolis. Total of 108 date fruits and 1537 tiger nuts was acquired from six different localities in Abuja, Nigeria. The date fruits were grouped in threes, each set with an average of 17.8g per chunk. The tiger nuts were grouped into 5 sets of 10g each. Each of the sets was washed in 10ml normal saline. Each resultant suspension was strained through a piece of double layered improvised cheesecloth (bandage), which filtered off particles but allowed the passage of helminths eggs and larvae. Each filtrate was transferred to a clean labelled centrifuge tube. The filtrate was centrifuged at 2500rpm for one minute. After processing and decanting the supernatant into a disinfectant jar using Pasteur pipette, the sediments were agitated to form suspension with the remaining fluid in the tube. 20µl of the suspension was picked using pipette and applied on the center of a clean grease-free labelled slide for microscopic examination under a cover slip to avoid air bubbles using the X40 objectives. Identified geohelminths include ova of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura, Taenia spp, Enterobius vermicularis, and Hookworm.

Prevalence, Date Fruit, Tiger Nut, Soil Transmitted Helminthes, Abuja, Nigeria

[01] Habtamu Weldesenbet, Abdulsemed Worku, Teha Shumbej (2019). Prevalence, infection intensity and associated factors of soil transmitted helminths among primary school children in Gurage zone, South Central Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study design. BMC Res Notes, 12: 231 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4254-8. [02] World Health Organization (2019). Soil-transmitted helminth infections.https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/soil-transmittedhelminth- infections. [03] Harizanov, R., Rainova, I., Tsvetkova, N., Kaftandjiev, I. Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among the Bulgarian population over a three year period (2015 – 2017). Helminthologia, 57, 1: 12 – 18, 2020. [04] Ouarda Djaoudene, Mostapha Bachir Bey, Hayette Louaileche (2019). Physicochemical characteristics and nutritional compositions of some date (phoenix dactylifera l.) fruit cultivars. Acta Universitatis Cibiniensis Series E: FOOD TECHNOLOGY; Vol. XXIII (2019), no. 2. [05] M. S. Baliga, B. R. V. Baliga, S. M. Kandathi, H. P. Vayalil, A review of the chemistry and pharmacology of the date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L), Food Res. Int. 44 (7) (2011) 1812-1822. [06] Chandrasekaran, M. & Bahkali, A. H. (2013). Valorization of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) fruit processing by-products and wastes using bioprocess technology–Review. Saudi J Biol Sci, 20 (2), 105-120. DOI. 10.1016/j.sjbs.2012.12.004. [07] Sultana Parvin, DilrubaEasmin, Afzal Sheikh, MrityunjoyBiswas, Subed Chandra Dev Sharma, Md. GolamSarowarJahan, MdAmirul Islam, Narayan Roy, Mohammad ShariarShovon. Nutritional Analysis of Date Fruits (Phoenixdactylifera L.) in Perspective of Bangladesh. American Journal of Life Sciences. Vol. 3, No. 4, 2015, pp. 274-278. doi: 10.11648/j.ajls.20150304.14. [08] Ekwunife C. A, Uzoma E. M, Nwaorgu O. C, Ozumba N. A, Aribodor D. N. and Ezeunala M. N. “The Role of Date Palm Fruits (Phoenix dactylifera) in the Transmission of Geohelminths in Nigeria’’. The Bioscientist, Vol. 1 (1): 1-5, May 2013. Available online at http://www.bioscientistjournal.com [09] Devries, F. and Feuke, T. (1999). Chufa (Cyperusesculentus) A weedy cultivar or cultivated weed? Econ. Bot., 45: 27- 37. [10] Abaejoh, R., Djomdi, I. and Ndojouenkeu, R. (2006). Characteristics of tigernut (Cyperusesculentus) tubers and their performance in the production of a milky drink. J. Food Process. Preserv., 30: 145-163. [11] Sanchez-Zapata E, Fernández-López J, Angel Pérez-Alvarez J (2012). Tiger nut (Cyperusesculentus) commercialization: health aspects, composition, properties, and food applications. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf. 11 (4): 366-377. [12] Umerie, S. C., E. P. Okafor and A. S. Uka, (1997). Evaluation of the tubers and oil of Cyperusesculentus. BioresourceTechnology, 61: 171-173. [13] Luka J, Biu AA, Babayo AM, Kyari F, Mohammed YM, Sonibare AO. Prevalence of helminths on raw vegetables and hygienic practices among vegetable marketers in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria. Niger J Parasitol. 2016; 37 (2): 169–73. [14] Fallah AA, Makhtumi Y, Pirali-Kheirabadi K. Seasonal study of parasitic contamination in fresh salad vegetables marketed in Shahrekord, Iran. Food Control. 2016; 60: 538–42. [15] Getaneh Alemu, Mezgebu Nega, Megbaru Alemu. (2020). Parasitic Contamination of Fruits and Vegetables Collected from Local Markets of Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia. Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine, 2020: 11 17–25. [16] Dankwa K, Siaw D, Obboh E, Singh B, Nuvor S. Parasitic profile of fresh vegetables sold in selected markets of the Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana. Annu Res Rev Biol. 2018; 28 (6): 1–7. doi: 10.9734/ARRB. [17] Hailemeskel E, Kiros G, Matebe T. Parasitological contamination of fresh vegetables and its prevalence in Dessie Town, Northeast Ethiopia. J Biol Agri Healthc. 2018; 8 (17). [18] Bekele F, Shumbej T. Fruit and vegetable contamination with medically important helminths and protozoans in Tarcha town, Dawuro zone, South West Ethiopia. Res Rep Trop Med. 2019; 10: 19–23. doi: 10.2147/RRTM.S205250. [19] Etewa S, Abdel-Rahman S, Fathy G, Abo El-Maaty D, Sarhan M. Parasitic contamination of commonly consumed fresh vegetables and fruits in some rural areas of Sharkyia Governorate, Egypt. Afro-Egypt J Infect Endem Dis. 2017; 7 (4): 192–202. doi: 10.21608/aeji.2017.17804. [20] Punsawad C, Phasuk N, Thongtup K, Nagavirochana S, Viriyavejakul P. Prevalence of parasitic contamination of raw vegetables in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. BMC Public Health. 2019; 19 (1): 34. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-6358-9. [21] Adamu NB, Adamu JY, Mohammed D. Prevalence of helminth parasites found on vegetables sold in Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria. Food Control. 2012; 25: 23–6. [22] Mohamed MA, Siddig EE, Elaagip AH, Edris AMM, Nasr AA. Parasitic contamination of fresh vegetables sold at central markets in Khartoum state, Sudan. Ann Clin Microbiol Antimicrob. 2016; 15: 17–23. [23] Eneanya, C. I. and Njom, V. S. (2003). Geohelminth contamination of some common fruits and vegetables in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria. The Nig. J. Parasitol., 24: 123-128. [24] Michael O. Elom, Ukpai A. Eze, Amos Nworie, Irene O. Akpotomi. Prevalence of geohelminths on edible fruits and vegetables cultivated in rural villages of Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria. Online: ISSN 2157-1317, doi: 10.5251/ajfn.2012.2.3.58.64 © 2012, ScienceHuβ, http://www.scihub.org/AJFN. [25] Silver ZA, Kaliappan SP, Samuel P, Venugopal S, Kang G, Sarkar R, Ajjampur SSR. Geographical distribution of soil transmitted helminths and the effects of community type in South Asia and South East Asia - a systematic review. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018; 12 (1). [26] Rostami A, Ebrahimi M, Mehravar S, Fallah Omrani V, Fallahi S, Behniafar H. Contamination of commonly consumed raw vegetables with soil transmitted helminth eggs in Mazandaran province, northern Iran. Int J Food Microbiol. 2016; 225: 54–8. [27] Duedu KO, Yarnie EA, Tetteh-Quarcoo PB, Attah SK, Donkor ES, Ayeh-Kumi PF. A comparative survey of the prevalence of human parasites found in fresh vegetables sold in supermarkets and open-aired markets in Accra, Ghana. BMC Res Notes. 2014; 7: 836. [28] Shahnazi M, Jafari-Sabet M. Prevalence of parasitic contamination of raw vegetables in villages of Qazvin Province, Iran. Foodborne Pathog Dis. 2010; 7 (9): 1025–30. [29] Awosolu, O. B., Olusi, T. A., and Oginni, S. D. (2018) Incidence of geohelminths on fruits and vegetable farms in Owena, Ondo State, south-west, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Parasitology, 39 (1): 53-56. [30] Abe EM, Ajah LJ, Ayuba SO, Mogaji H and Ekpo UF. Geohelminths Contamination of Fruits and Vegetables Sold in Lafia Markets. Annual Research & Review in Biology 11 (2): 1-8, 2016. [31] George, D., Pamplona R and Winston J (2005). Dates Encyclopaedia of food and their healing therapy. 2: 147-148.