Antibacterial Activity of the Crude Extracts of Moringa Oleifera Leaf Lam (Moringaceae)

Abstract

Moringa oleifera plant has been widely accepted and used as herbal cure for many infectious and non-infectious medical conditions. This study was designed to evaluate the antibacterial activities of ethanolic extract of Moringa Oleifera leaf (EMOL) against three standard bacteria: a pathogenic bacterium (Escherichia coli, ATCC 25922) and two virulent ones (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, ATCC 25923 and Acinetobacter bauamanii, ATCC 19606). Various concentrations (1000, 500, 250,125, 62.5 and 31.25) mg/ml of EMOL were prepared in 3% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and screened for antibacterial activity using agar well diffusion method. The results of the zones of inhibition showed that EMOL at 1000mg/ml has antibacterial activity on Staphylococcus aureus (13.00mm), Escherichia coli (11.00mm) and Acinetobacter bauamanii (11.00mm). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were 256 mg/ml, 512mg/ml and 256mg/ml for MRSA (ATCC 25923), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Acinetobacter bauamanii (ATCC 19606) respectively. EMOL has significant antibacterial activity against pathogenic and virulent bacterial pathogens, and may be a potential source of another effective and useful antibacterial agent.