Abstract

Charu Gupta1*, Amar P. Garg2 , Ramesh C. Uniyal1and Archana Kumari2

The aim of the present study was to assess the antimicrobial activities of cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) extract (50% ethanol) and its oil, and to compare their effectiveness against ten bacteria (seven Gram- positive and three Gram-negative) and seven fungi by agar well diffusion assays. Cinnamon oil exhibited a broad spectrum of antagonistic activity, as compared to its extract, by inhibiting both bacteria and fungi. The oil was found to be very effective with a lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.25% (v/v) against Bacillus sp., Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli and Klebsiella sp. Amongst the fungi, Rhizomucor sp. was found to be highly sensitive to the oil. Therefore, this study shows that cinnamon oil is a more potent antimicrobial agent than cinnamon extract and that it has the potential to be used as food biopreservative.