CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Among horticultural crops fruits are of great importance for an adequate and

balance human diet. In certain part of the world fruits are the major dietary staple.

Apart from being a rich source of vitamins and minerals the production of fruits

also contributes significantly to regional and national economics through national

and international trade. The term fruit has many different meaning depending on

the context.

A fruit is a ripened ovary together with seeds of a flowering plant. Fruits are the

means through which flowering plants disseminate seeds (Lewis 2002).

In cuisine when food items are called “fruits” the term is most often used for those

plants fruits that are edible sweet and fresh examples are: apples and oranges.

Fruits are cultivated in areas where the environmental factors are suitable for their

growth. Emene in Enugu state is considered one of the areas that have good

cultivating land for great yield of fruits and this is done usually during rainy season

or use of irrigation during dry season. Irrigation water is achieved by different

sources like lake stream river ponds etc. which may be polluted with animal and

human feaces. Due to high number of eggs cyst and larvae of human intestinal

parasites present in the waste

water the use of excreta polluted water is a health risk to both the farmers and the

consumers that eat the produce raw and fresh like apples guava pear and mango

(Scolf 1992).

Pollination is a vital part of fruit culture and in few species they may develop in

the absence of pollination/fertilization a process known as “parthernocarpy” such

fruits are seedless (Mauseth &James 2003). Many foods are botanically fruits but

are treated as vegetables in cooking and food preparations. Examples are:

Tomatoes eggplant pumpkin and pears etc. (Mcgee and Harold 2004). Ethylene

causes ripening in fruits.

There are three types of fruits

1. Simple fruit

2. Aggregate fruit and

3. Multiple fruit

Simple fruit can be either dry or fresh Example carrot wheat tomato avocado

banana etc.(Schelegel2002).

The examples of an aggregate fruits are pineapple bread fruit etc. some fruits

have coat covered with Spikes or hooked burrs either to prevent themselves from

being eaten by animals using them as dispersal agent. eg. unicorn plant (Heiser

and Charles 2003). Many fruits are used to make beverages such as fruit juice

(orange juice apple juice grape juice

etc).or alcoholic beverages such as wine or brandy. Apples are often used to make

vinegar. Mcgee (2004) fruits are contaminated with parasites and some parasite

infections which have direct life cycle and do not need an intermediate host to

infect a new host are via feacal-orally transmitted parasites. Infections acquired

through direct ingestion of infective egg or cyst is intimately linked with level of

personal hygiene and sanitation in the community. Factors like the lack of latrine

and adequate sewage disposal facilities have been known to contribute to the

spread of the infective states of the parasites thereby bringing about a wide spread

contamination of foods. Infection can be acquired through contaminated unwashed

fingers insects circulation of currency and by wind during dry season.

Contamination of fruits with eggs and cyst especially those hawked by fruit

vendors may also serve as a source of infection to consumers of such fruits items.

These parasites includes: entamoeba histolystica Giardia duodenace Trichuris

trichura Ascaris Lumbricoides and Benterobius vermiculais. (World Health

Organization [WHO]2000).

Amoebiasis is known to cause about 450 million infections per annum in

developing countries with an incidence of about 50 million and 100000 deaths.

Giardiais is more common in children and has a world wide prevalence of about 1-

30% (Wov and Paterson 1986). Ascaris is the commonest nematodes of man

especially in tropical Africa with a prevalence of about 40% in Enugu State

(Reonthalaer 1988). And may be as high as 96-100% in the rural community in

Enugu State.The resistance capacity of the eggs and cyst of these parasites is a

feature of profound influence on the epidemiology.

Eggs of Ascaris can remain viable for up to six years. (Njom2002). Many people

who eat fresh fruit as part of an overall health diet are likely to have reduced risk of

some chronic diseases. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduce risk for

stroke diabetes certain cancers such as (mouth) heart diseases developing

kidney stone and decreases bone loss.

Fruit reduces the risk of neural tube defects spina bifida and anecephaly during

fetal development

(Ayer 2001). Fruits are very important in human consumption especially

health wise. Parasites that affect fruits need to be controlled in a proper process in

order not to affect those that are of medially important. The major way of selecting

the appropriate intervention stops to reduce population to pathogenic

microorganism on fruits is to identify sources of contamination and ecology of the

pathogens as it is affected by processing practices. Organism like; Samonella

cryptosproridium cyclospora Giardia are among the disease causing organisms

that have been transferred via fresh fruits (Sushow 1997).The use of disinfectant

like chlorine in wash water can also help to prevent both host harvest disease and

food borne illnesses.

The evaluation of these medically important parasites found in fruits will

depend on the knowledge of the factors contributing to the spread of such parasites

including the activities of fruit vendors at Orie emene market and then affect on the

distribution of these parasites.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the parasite of medical importance in fruit sold at Orie Emene

market in Enugu State.

2. To determine whether washing of fruits with untreated water eliminates the

parasites of medical importance (pathogenic parasites) from them.

3. To determine whether fruits are safe to be eaten without washing them as some

people do.