Effects of some seasonal vegetables and fruits on the growth of bacteria

Abstract

A total of sixty eight strains of 19 different species of bacteria viz., Bacillus megaterium, B. brevis, B. firmus, B. subtilis, B. pumilus, B. pasteurii, Staphylococcus aureus, S. haemolyticus, Micrococcus luteus, M. sedenterius, M. varians, M. nishinomiyaensis, M. roseus, Escherichia coli, Neisseria sicca, N. mocosa, N. lactamicus, N. dentrificens and N. canis were used to evaluate the antibacterial effects of juices of garlic (Allium sativum), lemon (Citrus limonum), unripe papaya (Carica papaya), pomegranate (Punica granatum) and white radish (Raphanus sativus) by well diffusion method. Juice of garlic exhibited the highest activity against all species with average zone of inhibition 32.66 mm. The juices of lemon, unripe papaya and pomegranate also possess good antibacterial effect with 25.81, 21.25 and 17.75 mm, respectively. Besides, all isolates were found resistant to the juice of white radish. © 2006 Asian Network for Scientific Information.