ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF Zingiber officinale (GINGER) AND Allium sativum (GARLIC) AQUEOUS EXTRACT ON SOME SELECTED BACTERIA OF VETERINARY IMPORTANCE

Abstract
Key words
Introduction
The ability of a substance to inhibit or kill bacteria is known as antibacterial activity. Such substances include chemotherapeutic agents which are products of roots, bark, stems and leaves of plants. In some cases, these products serve as cheap and effective alternative to orthodox drugs. A recent survey in the United State of America revealed an expected 20% annual growth in herbal medicine in the next 5 years (Saxena, 2004) with an estimated 80% of the world population living in the developing countries still relying on plants for health care. Due to the large dependence on traditional health care practices, World Health Organization (WHO) recognized the implicit role of herbal medicine in the Alma Mata declaration of Health for All by the year 2000AD in 1978.
Zingiber officinale, or common ginger which is one of the frequently used medicinal plants is native to South-East Asia. The plant has slender reed-like stems with dark glossy green leaves arising from tuberous rhizomes. Ginger has been used for centuries as flavouring and as a treatment for all sorts of ailments from motion sickness to athletes foot (Richard et al., 2005). Ginger compounds are active against a form of diarrhoea which is the leading cause of infant death in developing countries. Zinerone is likely to be the active constituent against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, heat-labile enterotoxin-induced diarrhoea (Chien Y et al, 2007).
Garlic is indigenous to Asia. It is now fond worldwide as a cultivated crop, which is usually grown at high altitudes (Moyers, 2003). It is an erect herb of the Alliaceae family, 30-60 cm tall. Garlic has been use as both food and medicine in many cultures for thousands of years, dating at least as far back as when the Giza pyramids were built. Garlic is still grown in Egypt, but the Syrian variety is the kind mostly used. (Gernot K, 2007). In in vitro studies, garlic has been found to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activity. However, these actions are less clear in vivo (Tauscher E, 2005). More recently, it has been found from a clinical trial that a mouthwash containing 2.5% fresh garlic shows good antimicrobial activity, although the majority of the participants reported an unpleasant taste and halitosis (Groppo F. et al., 2007).

Materials and methods * Collection and identification of plant materials * Test organisms * Sample preparation and extraction * Sterility proofing of extracts * Standardization of bacterial cell suspension * Determination of MIC of extracts on the test organisms * Determination of zones of inhibition
Results
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