Food ©2007 Global Science Books Family Zingiberaceae Compounds as Functional Antimicrobials, Antioxidants, and Antiradicals Supayang P. Voravuthikunchai Natural Products Research Center and Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand Correspondence :
[email protected] ABSTRACT Increasing numbers of reported cases of food-associated infections and health problems associated with synthetic additives have led to a growing interest by consumers in ingredients from natural sources. Some members of the family Zingiberaceae have been extensively used as a condiment for flavoring as well as traditional medicines. These include Alpinia galanga (galanga), Boesenbergia pandurata (krachai), Curcuma amada (mango ginger), Curcuma longa (turmeric), Curcuma zedoria (zedoary), Kampferia galanga (proh hom), Zin- giber officinale (ginger), and Zingiber zerumbet (zerumbet ginger). Their antimicrobial activities against important foodborne pathogens including Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocyto- genes, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Hepatitis A Norwalk virus, Entamoeba histolytica, and Giardia lamblia are outlined. In addition to the antimicrobial activities against a wide range of microorganisms, their antioxidant activities have been documented. The potential uses of these plant species as food preservatives are discussed. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________