ABSTRACT

Babies heat prickly powders are powders that contains antibacterial, Absorbent and refreshing natural essential oil that aid in the relieving ofitching, heat rash and skin irritation on babies skin from hot weather. These powders can be made from talc or corn starch. The aim ofthis study was to isolate and Characterize Bacteria from Babies Heat Prickly powders purchased in Umuahia. 10 randomly selected baby prickly heat powder samples were collected from different locations within Umuahia, Abia state. The samples were diluted serially using the 10 fold dilution then cultured by spread plate method on various Agar medium And incubated at 37°C for 24 hours. The isolates from the samples cultured were subcultured on different respective Media overnight by Streaking method before a stock culture was prepared using various the Bijou bottle. Bacteria isolates from the samples ofthe Baby heat prickly powder were subsequently characterized and identified. Results showed that various bacteria were isolated with varying prevalence in Baby heat prickly powder samples. The four isolates were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus sp, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Staphylococcus aureus had 40% percentage occurence in the samples, while Staphylococcus epidermidis had 20% and Bacillus sp had 20% and 20% respectively with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In a nutshell, The total bacteria count for the samples ofthe Baby's heat prickly powder ranged from 1.32 xlO5 CFU/g to 4.3 xlO4 CFU/g with sample 4 having the highest count of 1.32xl05 CFU/g followed by sample 10 with a Total bacteria count of 1.03xl05 CFU/g, then sample 3 had bacteria count of l.OlxlO5, with Sample 8 having a bacteria count of 6.1xl04 CFU/g, while Sample 6 had the least count of 4.3xlO4 CFU/g, The international Microbiological standards recommended limits for bacterial contamination in cosmetic products are 1.0 x 103 CFU/g for bacteria. So therefore the High bacterial load observed in the present study showed there was an indication of contamination. This may be as a result of poor manufacturing practices, poor hygiene, contaminated raw materials or the susceptibility of the ingredients contained in the baby powders. Therefore, good manufacturing practices (GMP) and hygiene must be carried out by manufacturers and personnel, water must be tested continuously for microbial growth, raw materials should be tested before use especially those of natural origin and cosmetic products should be stored in an aseptic environment to avoid contamination before vending in the markets.