Antibacterial effects of some selected spices used in Nigerian pepper soup on cooked broiler meat on days 3 and 6 of refrigeration storage

Abstract

Food deterioration with subsequent spoilage has been attributed to the presence of micro-organisms, in which bacteria play a prominent role in this regard, especially in the tropics. However, study of this nature was designed to help boost existing progress made in line of curtailing the activities of this micro-organism. Research studies have shown that spices have anti-microbial properties, hence the ability to inhibit the activities of bacteria. The experiment was conducted in phases: phase one investigated the antibacterial effects of some selected individual spices used in Nigerian pepper soup, phase two investigated the effects of mixture of the spices in an unformed manner, (as prepared in the open market), while phase three, investigated the effects in an informed manner, that is, preparation based on the results from phases one and two of the study. The selected spices were Tetrapleura tetraptera (Aidon fruit), Zingiber officinale (Ginger), Piper gueneense (Guinea pepper), Aframomum melegueta (Grain of paradise), Xylopia aethiopica (Ethiopian pepper), Allium sativum (Garlic), Ocimum gratissimum (big leaf basil), Ocimum basilicum (small leaf basil) and Monodora myristica (African nutmeg). The experiments investigated the effects of the spices on days three and six of refrigerated storage using serial dilution method. The selected spices significantly (p<0.05) reduced bacterial load on the two separate days of refrigerated storage. This could have been due to the presence of phytochemical in them.