THE PROBIOTIC-HERBAL SYNERGY: A NOVEL APPROACH TO CONTROL FOOD BORNE PATHOGENS

Foodborne pathogens remain a major public health concern due to increasing antimicrobial resistance and recurrent outbreaks. Natural therapeutic alternatives such as probiotics and medicinal herbs have gained attention because of their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties. However, limited studies evaluate their combined synergistic antibacterial potential. The present study assessed the antibacterial activity of four aqueous herbal extracts, Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha), Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamon), Syzygium aromaticum (Clove), and Rubia cordifolia (Manjishtha) along with cell-free supernatants (CFS) and partially purified bacteriocins from selected probiotic strains against six foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexnerii, Klebsiella aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi A, and Salmonella typhi B. Antibacterial activity was determined using agar well diffusion assay, and zones of inhibition were expressed as Mean ± SD (mm). Comparative evaluation demonstrated that individual herbal extracts and probiotic CFS exhibited moderate inhibitory effects, whereas combination treatments significantly enhanced zones of inhibition across most test pathogens. Synergistic interactions were particularly evident against E. coli, Salmonella typhi, and Shigella, indicating amplified bacteriostatic activity when treatments were combined.