Screening for antifungal activity of garlic (Allium sativum) powder against mycelia growth of three post-harvest pathogens

Screening for antifungal activity of garlic powder against mycelia growth of three post-harvest pathogens (Aspergillus, Rhizopus and Mucor species) was investigated in this study. Five grams of malt extract agar (MEA) were poured into a conical flask, 100 ml of water and different weight of garlic powder (1, 3, 5 and 7 g) were separately added, stirred and later sterilized while MEA medium with no garlic added (0 g) served as control. The mycelia of each post-harvest pathogen was cut with 6mm cork borer and placed on the solidified medium in the Petri dish and incubated at 28±2oC for 72 hours. Phytochemical screening of the garlic powder was also investigated. Results from this study showed that the different weights of the garlic powder apart from the control (0 g garlic) significantly inhibited the mycelia growth of the three post-harvest pathogens tested in the study and the order of antifungal activity of the garlic powder against mycelia growth of Aspergillus, Rhizopus and Mucor species  was 7 g > 5 g > 3 g > 1 g > 0 g, 5 g > 7 g >1 g > 3 g > 0 g and  7 g > 5 g > 3 g > 1 g > 0 g respectively. The antifungal activity of the garlic powder may be related to the presence of active antimicrobial agents including alkaloids, saponins, tannins, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides that were detected in the powder. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2635824