Study on the Control of Fungi Isolated from Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) With Extract of Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Sweet Potato is susceptible to spoilage by microorganisms. The effect of ethanol, methanol and aqueous extracts of Zingiberofficinale on the growth of Aspergillusfumigatus, Aspergillusflavusand Aspergillusniger isolated from spoilt sweet potato was investigated. The fungi used was susceptible to the extracts with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range of 10mg/ml to 40mg/ml. Ethanol extract has more inhibitory effect than methanol and aqueous extracts. Assay of the antifungal properties of the extracts against the test fungi shows that Aspergillusfumigatus was the most resistant among the test fungi while Aspergillusniger was the most susceptible. Investigation on the antifungal effect of Zingiberofficinale on the growth of the fungi isolated from spoilt sweet potato shows that Zingiberofficinale is effective as antifungal agent against Aspergillusfumigatus, Aspergillusflavus and Aspergillusniger. Phytochemical analysis of ethanol extract of Zingiberofficinale shows that the extract contains flavonoids Tannins and Saponins. The results suggest that extracts of Zingiberofficinale may be an important preservative for sweet potato.