Antimicrobial Potentials of Yaji-Spices: The Constituents of a Complex Nigerian Suya Meat Sauce Inducing Histological Investigations

Abstract

Spices and herbs have been used for thousands of centuries as preservatives for foods and for medicinal purposes. Some of these spices and herbs possess antimicrobial potentials that may, in combination, be considered as alternatives to conventional antimicrobial agents especially in this era of antimicrobial drug resistance. Our interest however, is on the widely consumed Nigerian suya meat sauce called Yaji. It is a complex mixture of salt, ginger, clove, red pepper and black pepper, all of which, on individual basis, have established antimicrobial properties. This paper therefore highlights these all-in-one antimicrobial potentials of Yaji.