Antifungal Action of Garlic (Allium sativum) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) on Some Pathogenic Fungi
V. N. Agi *
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Rivers State University, Nigeria.
C. A. Azike
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Rivers State University, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: The antifungal activities of fresh garlic (Allium sativum) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) on the growth of three known pathogenic fungi were investigated. The test organisms were Aspergillus spp Penicillium spp and Candida albicans.
Methodology: Two different concentrations of extracts were used. Concentration I which had crude extract of 100 g/ 100 ml of sterile distilled water and concentration II with extract of 100 g/50 m1 of distilled water. Ten mls of each extract was added to each 125 m1 of SAB (saboraud dextrose agar) media before and after sterilization.
Results: The extracts added to the media after its sterilization inhibited the growth of the pathogenic fungi samples more than the extracts added to the media before sterilization. This indicates that the active ingredients present in the extracts which have the antifungal effect observed is negatively affected and inactivated at 121ºC for 15 minutes. It can be inferred that garlic and ginger have different levels of therapeutic values on fungi.
Keywords: Garlic, ginger, pathogenic fungi, antifungal.