ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF GARLIC AND GINGER EXTRACTS

ABSTRACT

Garlic and Ginger are hardy perennial of Asiatic origin, belonging to the plant family liliaceae. Investigations were carried out to study the inhibitory effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) and garlic (Allium sativum) extracts at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 7.0 and 10.0 per cent level in vitro on Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes by spectrophotometer method. Both the spices exhibited bacteriostatic effect against both the test organisms. The inhibitory effect increased with the increase in the concentration of extracts. The garlic extract was more effective against E. coli than L. monocytogenes. Ginger extract was effective in restricting the growth of E. coli at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 per cent level. The minimum inhibitory effect of ginger extract was found to be 8.7 and 8.5 for E. coli and L. monocytogenes respectively, whereas in case of garlic extract it was 9.1 and 8.0, respectively. It was concluded that both the spices possess a good potential to act as natural preservative.