Antibacterial activities of wild rhizomatous plants - Zingiber officinalis, Zingiber zerumbet (Zingiberaceae) and synergistic effects of both collected from southern Western Ghats, India

Abstract

Rhizome extracts of Zingiber officinalis and Zingiber zerumbet (Zingiberaceae) from southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India were investigated for their antibacterial activity by agar well diffusion method against bacterial human pathogens such as Escherichia coli, β -haemo streptococci, Klebsiella penumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The study revealed that all the pathogens were inhibited by various extracts (Methanol, Ethanol, n-Butanol and Acetone) of Zingiber spp. sometimes far better than the control antibiotic Amoxicillin. These results clearly  elucidates that Zingiber officinalis and Zingiber zerumbet collected from wild have higher antibacterial activity than that of standard antibiotic.