Antimicrobial Activities of Ginger extract on Selected Pathogenic Microorganisms

Antimicrobial activities of ginger (Zingiber officinale) were investigated for its microbial activity against clinical isolates of Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia. coli, and Bacillus using agar well diffusion method. Freshly harvested rhizomes of both local and agric ginger from the Clifford University Farm were employed for this study. The rhizomes were washed to remove adhering soil particles, sliced, dried and milled to powder, extraction was done using ethanol and water. Tests carried out on both ethanol and water extracts of local and agric ginger were phytochemicals, antimicrobial activities, Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The phytochemical test result on both local and Agric ginger typically showed the presence of bioactive compounds such as tannins, alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, anthraquinone derivatives with traces of steroids. The study showed that ethanol extracts of ginger exhibited significant antimicrobial activity, producing larger zones of inhibition compared to water extracts which could be as a result of better extraction with alcohol solvents.