Pomegranate Juice Inhibits Bacterial Agents of Acute Gastroenteritis

Bacterial diarrhoea is a major health problem in developing countries and travellers to these countries. Various herbal and traditional medicines have been tried to treat infectious diarrhoea, with variable success. Here, we screened different fruit juices for the possible anti-microbial activity against intestinal bacterial pathogens isolated from acute gastroenteritis cases. Seven fruit juices [apple, orange, pineapple, grape, pomegranate, sweet lime and lemon water] were tested against 11 bacterial enteropathogens including Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. via agar diffusion method. Pomegranate juice showed the highest anti microbial activity against enteropathogens. The results with grape juice, orange juice and lemon water were also appreciable but variable with pH changes. Apple juice showed least and negligible activity. Pomegranate juice can provide a dual benefit of rehydration and anti bacterial therapy in infectious gastroenteritis.