In vitro Antimicrobial Evaluation of Zingiber officinale, Curcuma longa and Alpinia galanga Extracts as Natural Food Preservatives

In the present study, antimicrobial activity of various extracts of Zingiber officinale, Curcuma longa and Alpinia galanga were screened against the common food borne bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteriditis, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter jejuni, Bacillus cereus and fungi such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Hansenula anomala, Mucor mucedo, Candida albicans using disc diffusion method. All the extracts showed significant antibacterial and antifungal properties. The methanol extracts (100 µg mL -1) revealed maximum zone of inhibition (p<0.001). Zingiber officinale and Curcuma longa possessed considerably greater activity than Alpinia galanga. These findings established the potential of the selected rhizomes of Zingiberaceae family as effective natural food preservatives.

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