Assessing the antibacterial activity of moringa and ginger ethanolic extracts on bacterial isolates from retail pork

Abstract

Public health concerns have been raised, especially in places with weak food safety management, by the growth in foodborne bacterial contamination in pork caused by poor hygiene measures and an overreliance on synthetic antibiotics. In order to combat common bacterial contaminants found in retail pork, this study investigates the possibility of employing natural plant extracts from Zingiber officinale (ginger) and Moringa oleifera (moringa) as substitute antibacterial agents. The study specifically evaluates the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts from these plants against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli that were isolated from pork that was sold in Soroti City, Uganda. 23 pork samples were gathered from different Soroti City pork joints and examined for the presence of bacteria. Total plate count (TPC) methods were used to assess the bacterial loads, and the isolates were grown on selective agar media to detect the presence of S. aureus and E. coli. Then, using the disc diffusion assay, the antibacterial activity of the ethanolic extracts of moringa and ginger was examined. Dimethyl sulfoxide served as the negative control and Oxytetracycline as the positive control in the comparison. The pork samples had a notable bacterial load, according to the results, with greater contamination levels in Soroti City's Eastern division. The ginger extract had a moderate level of antibacterial action against E. coli, whereas neither S. aureus nor E. coli were significantly inhibited by moringa. Even so, the combined extracts showed more antibacterial activity, although still not as strong as the synthetic antibiotic control. The possibility of ginger as a natural antibacterial agent against E. coli in retail pork is demonstrated by this study, but it also emphasizes the need for more investigation to maximize the effectiveness of plant-based treatments, especially for S. aureus. These results provide light on the creation of natural, alternative food safety treatments that encourage the use of locally accessible and culturally appropriate resources to reduce bacterial contamination in meat products.