Phytotherapy (herbal medicine) have a long-standing history in Egypt. Current study investigated the antimicrobial potentialities of twenty five herbs and spices which are widely used in folk medicine by Egyptian housewives to treat gastrointestinal disorders against seven bacterial strains, mostly food borne including pathogens. They were tested by using paper disc diffusion technique as qualitative assay and agar dilution method for determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of herbs extracts. Among screened plants, basil, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, lemon grass, mustard, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme extracts exhibited notable antimicrobial activities against most of the tested strains. Cinnamon extract was the most inhibitor followed by clove, whereas extracts of chamomile, rose of Jericho, safflower and turmeric showed weak antibacterial activities against most of the tested strains. The most sensitive strain to plant extracts was B. subtilis and the most resistant strain was Ps. fluorescens.
Conclusion and recommendations: herbs and spices extracts -used in Egyptian folk medicine for treating many gastrointestinal disorders - could be successfully applied as natural antimicrobials for elimination of food borne bacteria and pathogens growth.