Table 6.
Degree of bacterial contamination expressed as Total Viable Count (cfu/g) and as log10 cfu/g, as well as strains of bacteria detected in four Peruvian Maca phenotypes (L. peruvianum) Yellow, Purple, Red and Black selected from a commercial batch of mixed-coloured dried Maca hypocotyls harvested in Junin location at the altitude 4,200 m a.s.l. and delivered for processing to the Lima factory prior to sampling at the packaging stage
| Maca Phenotype | Mean Total Viable Count (TVC)1 (cfu/g) | TVC1 as percentage of Yellow Phenotype =100% | (TVC)1 (log10 cfu/g)* | SD (log10) | Strains of Bacteria detected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Yellow (Amarillo) | 2.2 × 104 | 100 | 4.33 a | 0.151 | Gram-positive aerobic bacillus strains only |
| Purple (Morado) | 1.1 × 103 | 5.09 | 3.04 b | 0.665 | Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria (Bacilli) |
| Red (Rojo) | 2.0 × 102 | 0.93 | 2.30 b | 0.513 | Gram-positive aerobic bacillus strains & Gram-positive cocci strains |
| Black (Negro) | <1 × 101 | 0.01 | 0.60 c | 0.577 | Gram-positive cocci strain |
| Detected difference | (P<0.001) | (P<0.001) | (P<0.001) | ||
TVC (log10 cfu/g) values with unlike lower case letters within the columns indicate an existence of differences in a degree of microbial contamination between Yellow, Purple, Red and Black Peruvian Maca phenotypes at statistically highly significant level (P<0.001).
TVC (Total Viable Bacterial Count) in the sample bulked from 12 commercial sub-samples originating in Junin District, consisting of Large size (“A”) hypocotyls (n=3).