Physiochemical and Antioxidant Evaluation of Moringa Oleifera Leaf Extract Followed by Phytochemical Screening and Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

Phytomedicines are believed to have benefits over conventional drugs and are regaining interest in current research. Moringa oleifera is a multi-purpose herbal plant used as human food and an alternative for medicinal purposes worldwide. An important factor that accounts for the medicinal uses of Moringa oleifera is its very wide range of vital antioxidants, antibiotics and nutrients including vitamins and minerals. Almost all parts from Moringa can be used as a source for nutrition with other useful values. Physiochemical and antioxidant evaluation of moringa leaves yielded 6.59 % moisture content, 9.64 % total ash, 6.38 pH (1 % solution), 5.81 pH (10 % solution), 0.07 % acidity (1% solution), 0.31 % acidity (10% solution), 2.54 mg GAE/100 g total phenolic contents (TPC), 3.68 mg QE/100 g total flavonoids contents (TFC) and 71.98 DPPH radicals scavenging activity. Phytochemical screening of ethanol extracts showed the presence of coumarine, terpenoids, polyphenols, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids and alkaloids. Antibacterial assay revealed that the highest antibacterial activity of 1 mg/ml and 0.5 mg/ml of ethanolic extracts were found to be against E. coli (18.4 mm, and 9.1 mm respectively) followed by S. aureus (12.9 mm, and 8.2 mm respectively), B. subtilis (10.3 mm, and 6.5 mm respectively) and P. aeruginosa (9.3 mm, and 5.2 mm respectively). Moringa extract also inhibited the development of certain bacteria, demonstrating its anti-microbial potential. This study verifies the presence of important phytochemicals in moringa leaf extracts, leading to the conclusion that moringa leaves can be utilized to cure a variety of ailments.