Comparison of antimicrobial, larvicidal and anthelmintic activity of Zingiber officinale Rose. cow urine extract

Abstract

Background: Cow urine is believed to have therapeutic value and used in many drug formulations. It has been used along with herbs to treat various ailments by traditional healers. Aim: The present study was aimed to evaluate and compare the antimicrobial, larvicidal, and anthelmintic activity of Zingiber officinale Rose. (ZO) with cow urine extracts. Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial activity was performed using five microbial strains, namely, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus flavus; larvicidal activity was evaluated using 3rd and 4th instar stage larvae; and anthelmintic activity using red earthworms (Lumbricus rubellus) for raw and photoactivated cow urine. Results: Antimicrobial activity of ZO photoactivated cow urine extract (ZOPUE) at 20 μg/ml concentration was found to show better minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values (MIC: 13.8 μg/ml for E. coli, MBC value >25 μg/ml) when compared with ZO raw cow urine extract (ZOUE) (MIC: 14.3 μg/ml for E. coli, MBC value >25 μg/ml). Larvicidal activity of ZOPUE at a concentration of 25% v/v showed a better mortality rate of 38.6% v/v when compared with ZOUE at a concentration of 25% v/v as 35.2% v/v. Anthelmintic activity of ZOPUE was found to show better paralysis and death rate at a concentration of 10 mg/ml, that is, 38.2 min for paralysis and 58.9 min when compared with ZOUE, that is, 39.6 min paralysis rate at a concentration of 10 μg/ml and death time observed was 59 min at 10 μg/ml concentration. Conclusion: Antimicrobial, larvicidal, and anthelmintic activity of ZOPUE were more significant when compared with ZO extract prepared with raw cow urine.