Evaluation of the antibacterial activity of crude preparations of Zingiber officinale (“zinjibl”), Echinops spp. ("Kebericho"), Coriandrum sativum ("dimbilal") and Cymbopogan citratus (“tej sar") on some food-borne pathogens.

Abstract

Crude preparations of four types of traditional medicinal plants used in Ethiopia, collected from local markets, were assessed for their antimicrobial activity against some food-borne pathogens. The growth or inhibition pattern of Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella boydii, Shigella Nexineri, Salmon typhimurium and Escherichia coli was determined in growth media separately containing Zingiber officinale (7%), Echinops spp. (10%), Coriandrum sativum (10%) and Cymbopogan citratus (7%). B. cereus was less sensitive to Coriandrum sativum but in media containing Echinops spp., Cymbopogan citratus and Zingiber officinale, final counts were less than initial counts. Although Staphylococcus aureus was not completely inhibited by the crude preparations, counts were less than those of the control af all stages of sampling. The Gram negative test strains were generally less sensitive to activities of crude preparations. Some retarding effect was noted on Shigella flexineri and Shigella boydil until 4 hours. Echinops spp. was relatively more Inhibitory to both Shigella test strains. Growth pattern and counts of Salmonella typhimurlum and E. coli af all stages were nor different from those of the control.