Abstract

---

Gradually human race is progressing to the era of using plant derived medication such as phytomedicines to treat, prevent infectious diseases and solve problem of resistant strains. Several plants possess some biomolecules that could be antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, plant extract that performs preventive and therapeutic roles through modulation of biological activities. However, Allium sativum and Zingiber officinale plants can be employed for this purpose. This study was carried out to investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity of aqueous extract of garlic cloves and ginger rhizomes on resistant isolates from chicken abattoir. Isolation of resistant organism from chicken dressing water and slaughter equipment was done using spread plate and streaking methods. The recovered isolates were exposed to a panel of eight antibiotics using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion technique. The identity of the resistant strains was done using standard biochemical and molecular techniques. Disc and agar well diffusion method were used to test antimicrobial efficacy of aqueous extracts of garlic cloves and ginger rhizomes resistant isolates. E. coli (90%) was the predominant organism isolated while Vibrio spp (50%), Salmonella spp (50%), Shewanella spp (30%), Klebsiella spp (20%), Aeromonas spp (20%), and Providencia spp (10%) with high percentage of multiple antibiotic resistance of 87.5% above. Maximum zone of inhibition at 0.1 concentrations is 8mm-18mm for ginger and 10mm-16mm for garlic on resistant organism tested. In conclusion, ginger and garlic have active metabolites that possess antimicrobials capacity against resistant organisms associated with chicken slaughtering and its dressing water. Therefore, it is advisable to include ginger and garlic to cooking of chicken to serve as both spices to cooking chicken and therapeutic to infections caused by resistant strains associated with chicken.

Keywords: Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale, resistant organisms, zone of inhibition