ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF GINGER & CLOVES AGAINST ISOLATED PATHOGENIC BACTERIA IN VITRO

Crude extracts of ginger (Zingiber officinale) and cloves (Eugenia caryophyllus) were studied for their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A complete 20 clinical specimens were collected from patients clinically diagnosed as cases of bacterial infections in Hit Hospital in Iraq. Gram-positive bacteria were isolated from 15 specimens and 5 specimens were gram negative bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria identified by cultural and biochemical tests among those isolates, 9 isolates were Staphylococcus epidermis's and 6 isolates were Staphylococcus aureus. Gram negative 100 to 400 mg/ml identified by cultural and biochemical tests and every one isolates were Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The result of ethanolic and water extract were tested against isolating bacteria by using agar well diffusion method. Forty microliters of the dilution of Crude extracts was transferred to every well and sterile water served as an effect. Extract from cloves showed the very best activity with minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) starting from 100 to 400 mg/ml. Ginger extract showed no repressive result against these bacteria. The repressive activity of the herbs extracts decreased over the storage amount 4 weeks at 4c◦.