ASSESSMENT OF ANTIBACTERIAL AND ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITIES OF COMMON KITCHEN SPICES IN RAW AND PROCESSED FORMS

Spices have been known from centuries for its aroma, flavor and antimicrobial activities. This review illustrates antimicrobial activity of simple aqueous extracts of raw spices and commercially available processed spices against pathogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Echerichia coli. Both raw and commercially available spices were extracted using distilled water and diluted at different concentrations of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mg/ml. Antimicrobial activity of these extracts were tested using paper disc and agar cup diffusion method. Raw aqueous extract of garlic showed significant antimicrobial activity whereas dried and concentrated commercial garlic powder did not exhibit comparable antimicrobial activity. Other tested spices namely ginger and clove do not showed prominent zone of inhibition which fails to conclude a significant antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria