Comparison Of Antimicrobial Activities Of Clove Oil & Its Extract On Some Food Borne Microbes

A study was carried out in the comparative analysis of ethanolic extract (50%) of clove & clove oil as natural antimicrobial agents on some food spoilage bacteria. The antibacterial activity of clove oil & its extract (50% ethanol) was tested against ten bacteria (seven Gram positive & three Gram negative) & seven fungi by agar well diffusion assays. The clove oil was found to be better antagonistic agent as compared to its extract counterpart by inhibiting both bacteria & fungi. The oil was found to be very effective with a lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2.5% (v/v) against Staphylococcus epidermidis & Staphylococcus sp. Amongst the fungi, Aspergillus niger was found to be highly sensitive to the oil. Sodium propionate (standard food preservative) was used as a positive control. Clove oil was found to be more effective as compared to both clove extract & sodium propionate. This study shows the potential of clove oil to be used as food bio-preservative.