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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Background Ginger, commonly available as fresh rhizomes and dry powder, is prone to be contaminated either in spice or herbal tea form. Materials and methods Microbiological profile, total aflatoxin content, and phytochemical component were assessed using standard methods. Moreover, disc diffusion method was applied to investigate the antimicrobial ginger extract activity against foodborne pathogens. Results The most abundant identified compound was zingiberene in fresh (38.59%) and in dry powder (43.93%). The antimicrobial activity of ginger extract was more effective against gram-positive bacteria when compared with the results obtained by gram-negative bacteria. The microbiological quality revealed high contamination of dry samples with total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, mold and yeast count as a group, coliforms. and Bacillus cereus, which exceeded the Egyptian standards, unlike the fresh rhizomes and herbal tea samples (P < 0.05), which were in acceptable levels. Furthermore, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium perfringens were not detected in any of the samples. Total aflatoxin was detected within the acceptable levels (6.2 μg/kg) in dry samples only. Conclusion Contamination was more pronounced in dry samples which need monitoring and control to fit the critical limits.

Keywords

Ginger, herbal tea, microbiological quality

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