ABSTRACT
Environmental disinfection greatly reduces the occurrence of nosocomial or healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) which are the major healthcare problems worldwide. In India, Ayurvedic traditionalfumigation with natural plant products is used to disinfect environment. In the present study, environmental disinfection efficiency of traditional fumigation practice has been evaluated by using naturalplant products such as garlic (Allium sativum) peel, turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder, Carom (Trachyspermum ammi) seeds (Ajwain) and Loban (resin of Styrax benzoin and Boswellia species). The efficiencyof traditional fumigation using these natural products to disinfect air and surface was evaluated. Theeffect of traditional fumigation on the microbiological quality of air was revealed by active air sampling.In addition, the ability of the traditional fumigation using garlic peel to disinfect inanimate surface wasevaluated using three strains of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Glass slide wasartificially contaminated with the bacteria and fumigated whereas non-fumigated slide served as control.The control and fumigated slides were analyzed for surviving bacteria and subjected to scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM) analysis. Traditional fumigation performed separately with three grams of garlic peel,turmeric, carom seeds and loban powder reduced the average air borne bacterial colony forming units(cfu)/m3 compared to non-fumigated control. The SEM analysis showed reduced number of bacteria ingarlic peel fumigated surface samples. The results of the study strongly suggested that the traditionalAyurvedic fumigation with natural plant products is effective in reducing air-borne bacteria and indisinfecting inanimate surfaces. The traditional fumigation with herbal products has huge potential toaddress the problem of nosocomial infections.© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institute of Transdisciplinary Health Sciencesand Technology and World Ayurveda Foundation. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-NDlicense (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).