The effect of different extracts of Moringa oleifera against selected microbe

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of Moringa oleifera (seeds, pods and stems) using aqueous, methanol and petroleum ether extracts. The antimicrobial activity of the plant extracts was used against four types of bacteria namely; Escheriashia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two species of fungi, namely; Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans using cup plate agar diffusion method. The susceptibility of the microorganisms to the extracts of this plant was compared with elected standard antibiotics. Petroleum ether extracts exhibited significant antibacterial and antifungal, comparable to the standard antibiotics. The present study showed strong antimicrobial activity of the seeds in petroleum ether extract. At concentration of 10% in all bacteria strains especially (E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus compared to the low activity observed against Streptococcus agalactiae and Aspergillus niger). The pod methanol extract was inactive against all test organisms except E. coli, while the stem methanol extract was inactive against all tested organisms except Candida albicans at concentration of 2.5%. The aqueous extract was inactive against all tested organisms except the seed extract against E. coli and stem extract against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. The results indicated a reasonable antibacterial potential and significant (P≤0.05) total antimicrobial activity, thus supporting its traditional medicinal practice.