ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF GINGER OIL AGAINST FOOD BORN PATHOGENS

This study was carried out to investigate the antibacterial activity of ginger oil against Food Born pathogens and the effect of heating, microwave heating and gamma irradiation on microbiological quality and antibacterial activity of ginger oil. Growth and survival of A. hydrophila and L. monocytogenes in broth media and carrot juice with different concentrations of ginger oil was also studied. Gram-negative bacteria were more resistant than gram-positive bacteria. Heating at 800C for 10 min did not change the antibacterial activity of ginger oil, whereas heating at 1000C for 5 min and autoclaving at 1210C for 15 min caused slight reduction in antibacterial activity in most microorganisms tested. Heating by microwave of ginger oil destroyed its antibacterial activity against B. cereus although it still works against other microorganisms tested. The dose 6 kGy caused slight reduction in antibacterial activity of ginger oil, whereas the dose 10 kGy caused markedly reduction in antibacterial activity of ginger oil against most microorganisms tested. Ginger oil was more effective on L. monocytogenes as compared with its effect on A. hydrophila in tryptone soya broth at 40C or 250C. Supplementation of ginger oil with carrot juice was more effective on A. hydrophila and L. monocytogenes than in tryptone soya broth and this effect was increased with increasing the time of incubation and the concentration of ginger oil. These results support the notion that plant essential oils may have an important role as pharmaceuticals and food preservatives