Abstract:
The study aim at comparing the antimicrobial (antifungal) properties of garlic, ginger and
lime on Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Cladosporium herbarum using organic and
water base extraction. Pure cultures of the test fungal were isolated from rotten vegetables, air
spora, and a swab of the skin surface whilst filtered plant extracts were obtained by means of
organic (absolute ethanol) and aqueous (distilled water) extraction techniques. The pour plate
technique was applied in the antifungal sensitivity testing using Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA)
and results obtained by measuring diameter of fungal growth over a 7day incubation period.
Growth results showed high but varied levels of antimicrobial effectiveness. Ginger showed
the highest antimicrobial effect against all the test fungi (P<0.01) followed by garlic (P<0.05)
and then lime (P<0.01) in Aspergillus species but not in effective on C. herbarum (P>0.05)
using ethanol extraction. In the water (aqueous) base extraction medium, lime exhibited the
highest antimicrobial (antifungal) effect (P<0.01) on all test fungi, followed by garlic
(P<0.01) on Aspergillus species,(P<0.05) on C. herbarum whilst ginger was ineffective
on Aspergillus species (P>0.05) but highly fungicidal on C. herbarum (P<0.01). Thus water
base extraction technique was the most effective in inducing antifungal properties of lime
whiles ethanol base extraction technique was the best for ginger. Garlic on the other hand
exhibited a good antimicrobial (antifungal) property in both ethanol and water extraction
media. The study thus confirms the antifungal properties of these medicinal plants and
suggests the type of extraction to yield the best results.
