ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF ZINGIBER OFFICINALE AND GARCINIA KOLA ON RESPIRATORY TRACT PATHOGENS

Objective: To investigate the antibacterial activity of Zingiber officinale (ginger) Garciniakola (bitter kola) on four respiratory tract pathogens.Design: A prospective study based on laboratory investigations.Setting: Department of Life Sciences, University of Buea. Throat swabs were collectedfrom 333 individuals with running nostrils, cough and / or catarrh in three localitiesof Buea namely Bokwango, Molyko and Bolifamba. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcuspyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were isolated from thespecimens using standard microbiological procedures. The antibacterial activity ofethanolic extracts of ginger and bitter kola, were investigated on these pathogens usingthe Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration(MBC) assays.Results: The extracts exhibited antibacterial activity against the pathogens. The MICof extracts ranged from 0.0003µg/ml to 0.7µg/ml for ginger and 0.00008µg/ml, to 1.8µg/mL for bitter kola, while MBC ranged from 0.1.35µg/ml to 2.04µg/ml for ginger and0.135µg/ml to 4.2µg/ml for bitter kola.Conclusion: Results indicated that extracts of ginger root and bitter kola may containcompounds with therapeutic activity