Food spoilage is phenomenon associated with occurence of the microorganisms in agricultural products. Due to the ability of several microorganisms to colonize plant material, agrochemicals were proposed to suppress bacterial growth. However, overuse of agrochemicals has detrimental impact on environmental quality. Therefore, the objective of this research was to evaluate the potential of aqueous extracts of garlic (Allium sativum L.), wild garlic (Allium ursinum L.), and chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.) to suppress the growth of Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli. The antimicrobial activity of these plant extracts was determined using the disc diffusion method. Mueller-Hinton agar was inoculated with bacterial inoculum; six filter paper disks, impregnated with 15 μl aqueous extract (1, 2 and 4%), were placed on each agar surface. The Petri dishes were incubated at 37 °C for 24 hours. The diameter of the zone of inhibition was measured and expressed in millimeters (mm). Almost all aqueous extracts showed a negligible effect on the growth of E. coli and E. faecalis. Significant suppression of bacterial growth compared with other treatments was observed with the aqueous extract of wild garlic at a concentration of 4%. This research confirms the potential of wild garlic extract in suppression of potential pathogens.
Kvarenje hrane je pojava povezana sa prisustvom mikroorganizama u poljoprivrednim proizvodima. Zbog sposobnosti nekih mikroorganizama da koloniziraju biljni materijal, predložena je upotreba agrokemikalija za suzbijanje rasta bakterija. Međutim, prekomjerna uporaba agrokemikalija ima štetan utjecaj na kvalitetu okoliša. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio procijeniti potencijal vodenih ekstrakata češnjaka (Allium sativum L.), medvjeđeg luka (Allium ursinum L.) i vlasca (Allium schoenoprasum L.) u suzbijanju rasta Enterococcus faecalis i Escherichia coli. Antimikrobna aktivnost ovih biljnih ekstrakata određena je disk difuzijskom metodom. Mueller-Hinton agar inokuliran je bakterijskim inokulantom; šest diskova filter papira, impregniranih sa 15 μl vodenog ekstrakta (1, 2 i 4%), postavljeno je na svaku površinu agara. Petrijeve zdjelice inkubirane su na 37 °C u trajanju od 24 h. Promjer zone inhibicije izmjeren je i izražen u milimetrima (mm). Svi vodeni ekstrakti pokazali su inhibitorni učinak na rast E. coli i E. faecalis Vodeni ekstrakt medvjeđeg luka u koncentraciji od 4% značajno je suzbio rast bakterija u usporedbi sa drugim tretmanima. Ovo istraživanje potvrđuje potencijal ekstrakta medvjeđeg luka u suzbijanju potencijalnih patogena.