Antimicrobial activity of spices against Gram positive and Gram negative organisms

Alpana Sahani,Chinmai Godbole,Divya Sawant,Manasi Phadke,Punam Deshpande,Vrushali Shedge

doi:10.33472/afjbs.3.3.2021.37-40

Abstract

Since ancient times, spices are one of the important part of the human diet. In addition, it is used for providing flavor to food and also it possess various preservatives and medicinal values. Spices like turmeric, ginger and chilli exhibit antimicrobial properties. Turmeric is useful for home remedies and is now becoming a great research of interest for its anti-cancerous property. Even in Ayurveda spices are used as main ingredients for preparation of various medicines. This research aimed at studying antimicrobial activity of turmeric, ginger and chilli against Gram positive and Gram negative organisms. Standard laboratory strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis were selected for this study. Extracts of spices were prepared using different concentrations of DMSO as solvent (50% and 100%). Disk Diffusion Method was employed for comparative study of each selected spice on selected standard strains. The result demonstrated that the extracts of spices with 100% of DMSO showed greater zones of inhibition as compared to 50%. Gram positive bacteria are more sensitive to chilli and turmeric extracts than Gram negative bacteria whereas Gram negative bacteria are more sensitive to ginger extracts than Gram positive. Various studies have shown that gingerol, a naturally occurring phenol found in ginger disrupts the cell wall of bacteria causing cytoplasmic leakage. Spices might have greater potential to be used as an antimicrobial agents. Also, spices other than turmeric, ginger and chilli can be screened for their antimicrobial activities against microbial pathogens.

Highlights

Spices are one of the most important and an integral part of the human diet
Some common household spices like turmeric, chilli and ginger powder were used for screening of their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, a representative of Gram negative group of organisms and Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, the representatives of Gram positive group of organisms
Ginger exhibited larger zones of inhibition against Escherichia coli 43 mm and 44 mm for 50% and 100% of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) concentration respectively as compared to Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis which exhibited (34 mm, 41 mm) and (37 mm, 40 mm) for 50% and 100% DMSO respectively

Summary

Introduction

Spices are one of the most important and an integral part of the human diet. It is becoming a great research of interest due to its wide range of applications. Food poisoning is prevalent worldwide and is one of the common health problems faced by people of all age groups. Some common household spices like turmeric, chilli and ginger powder were used for screening of their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, a representative of Gram negative group of organisms and Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, the representatives of Gram positive group of organisms. Chilli scientifically called Capsicum annum is the member of nightshade family Solanaceae and Ginger, Zingiber officinale is the underground stem (rhizome) of the perennial herb. They have been used medicinally to treat a variety of diseases like arthritis, depression, heart ailments, nausea, indigestion etc. If the selected spices are effective against the organisms under study it suggests that these spices might be used as preventive measures for controlling food poisoning in future

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