Antifungal studies in the plant extracts of turmeric, ginger, onion and garlic

Garlic, onion, ginger and turmeric are very common spices which are frequently used in preparation of food. These are herbal spices. The herb is a plan which has medicinal or aromatic qualities. Extracts taken from various parts like roots, fruits, or stems or essential oils of herbal plants perform important biological functions in our body. They can defend against attack from predators such as insects, fungi and herbivorous mammals i.e they have antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. This nature is due to different types of chemical substances present in the herbal plant which act upon the body.

In the present study, the inhibitory effects in vitro of these selected plant juice extracts taken singly & in combination, were studied against selected fungi. Selected four fungi are A. niger, A. terreus, A.japinicus and P. expansum. On the basis of observation we found that fungi are strongly inhibited by the garlic juice than turmeric, ginger, and other juice extracts and almost all fungi could not be inhibited be onion. In comparison to reference antifungal agent (Ketacanazole), garlic & ginger showed effective inhibition against selected fungi. Combination of these juice extracts also have shown antifungal activity.