EFFICACY OF ESSENTIAL OILS IN THE CONTROL OF MICROBES IN CONTAMINATED CURRENCY NOTES IN INDIA

Abstract

The environment plays a vital role in the transmission of diseases and also in the spread of resistant strains of microbes to humans. These routes of transmission are of great importance in the health status of many populations in developing countries like India. Paper currency notes that are passed from hand to hand are likely to be contaminated with disease-causing microorganisms especially if handled in an unhygienic way. The present study was made to investigate the bacterial contamination of currency notes collected from people of different walks of the society and the efficacy of three essential oils for controlling the bacterial contamination of currency notes in India. The study reported here found that the extent of contamination was found related to the denominations of the currency. The prevalence occurrence of pathogenic microorganisms isolated from Indian paper currency notes from different occupational groups showed that all the currency denominations groups had microbial contamination and Rs.500 had less contamination than other denominations .It was derived from the result that cinnamon oil was proved to be the best essential oil in warding off harmful microbes much more effectively than the other essential oils