Antimicrobial and Antifungal Effect of Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) And Neem (Azadirachta indica) On Plant Pathogens |Biomedgrid

Plants have been the source of food, medicines and many other daily life products since primitive times. Bacterial and fungal pathogenic attack reduces crop yield. Phytochemicals as biocides have ability to kill microbes. In this study, extract of Zingiber officinale rhizomes (Ginger), leaves of Azadirachta indica (Neem) and Camellian sinensis (Green tea) were applied on bacterial (Xanthomonas syringae) and fungal (Alternaria alternate) pathogens to check their antibacterial and antifungal activity, respectively. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts were prepared which showed different efficiency. Bacterial pathogen was grown on “Nutrient agar (NA) media” while fungal pathogen was grown on “Potato dextrose agar (PDA) media”. Antibacterial and antifungal potential of plant extracts were observed at two different stages (at the time of inoculation and after growth of pathogen on media). Method used for assessing inhibition zone was done by “agar-well diffusion method” and MIC was measured by “micro-broth dilution method”. Ethanolic extract of green tea showed highest inhibition zone for Xanthomonas compestris while aqueous extract showed lowest inhibition zone. Moreover, highest antifungal activity was also shown by aqueous extract of green tea leaves. However, aqueous extract of ginger rhizome showed no antifungal activity. The lowest antibacterial and antifungal activity was showed by the ethanolic and aqueous extract of neem, respectively. MIC of aqueous extract of ginger rhizome was highest for fungal pathogen; however, the lowest MIC value for Alternaria alternata was due to ethanolic extract of neem leaves. This study gave us basis for making disease control strategies for pathogens of economically important crops such as X. syringae and A. alternata. Our findings will also help the management for effective disease control implementations.