Ability of Garlic and Ginger Oil to Reduce Salmonella in Post-Harvest Poultry

Abstract

Approximately 1.35 million human salmonellosis cases are reported in the United States every year, resulting in over 26,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths. Consumption of contaminated poultry products is one of the leading causes of human salmonellosis. Poultry meat becomes contaminated when feces from an infected bird comes into contact with the carcass during processing. Additional carcasses can then become cross-contaminated along the processing line. While chemicals such as peracetic acid are currently used to kill microbes such as Salmonella, consumers are increasingly calling for more natural alternatives. Our objective for this study was to determine the ability of the phytochemicals garlic and ginger oil to reduce Salmonella prevalence in the processing environment. In a simulated scalding tank environment, dipping contaminated chicken skin samples in a solution containing both garlic and ginger oil reduced Salmonella by up to 2 log CFU. Furthermore, the oils prevented Salmonella growth in the tank solution. The mechanism of action of garlic and ginger was evaluated using the sub-inhibitory concentration of each oil individually. While both were found to decrease autoinducer-2 (AI-2) levels, no effect was seen on expression of 10 genes involved in Salmonella virulence and survival. In total, this work demonstrates the potential of garlic and ginger to reduce Salmonella prevalence in the post-harvest environment. However, more work remains to be done to understand the mechanism of action.

Multidrug resistant and multivirulent avian bacterial pathogens: tackling experimental leg disorders using phytobiotics and antibiotics alone or in combination

“…Indeed, a previous study had focused on the potent antibacterial aspects of garlic and ginger against both Salmonella and S. aureus strains ( Chand, 2013 ). Other studies carried out in Egypt ( Elmowalid et al, 2019 ) and USA ( Robinson et al, 2022 ) confirmed that garlic and ginger had effective antibacterial properties against S. aureus and Salmonella strains. Like the findings of the current study, the considerable antibacterial activity of cinnamon EO had been proved against S .…”

Determining the In Vivo Efficacy of Plant-Based and Probiotic-Based Antibiotic Alternatives against Mixed Infection with Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli in Domestic Chickens

“…Several other plant extracts have been shown to have effective Salmonella -reducing effects. Robinson et al described a reduction in Salmonella of up to two log CFU (99%) when Salmonella -infected chicken meat was dipped in garlic and ginger oil [ 47 ]. Nair et al demonstrated a pronounced bactericidal effect against Salmonella spp.…”