Zingiber officinale: phytochemical analysis and evaluation of antimicrobial activity in combination with commercial antibiotics

Zingiber Officinale is a used in the regular diet in many asian countries. Chemical analysis of ginger shows that it consist of more than 400 different compounds. In the present study, antimicrobial activity of aqueous, ethanol and acetone extracts of Zingiber Officinalewere evaluated against S. aureus (ATCC 25923) and E.coli (ATCC25922). Ethanol extract demonstrated a higher antibacterial activity than the acetone and aqueous extract. These extracts were prepared from fresh Ginger rhizomes. These extracts were evaluated for their part in increasing antibacterial activity of streptomycin and tetracyclin against S. aureus (ATCC 25923) and E.coli (ATCC25922). The antibacterial activity of streptomycin and tetracyclin were enhanced against the test organism in the presence of these extracts. Phytochemical analysis gave positive results for steroids, triterpenoids, glycosides, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, carbohydrates, amino acids and proteins.Zingiber Officinalecontains pharmacologically bioactive constituents that may be responsible for its activity against test organisms.