The Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activity of Moringa oleifera Extracts against some Foodborne Pathogens

The aim of this study is to determine the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Moringa oleifera extracts.Maceration and Soxhlet apparatus were used to prepare aqueous and methanolic extracts respectively,while petroleum ether was used to extract seed oil. Many tests were conducted include, phytochemicaldetection, evaluation of antioxidant activity utilizing 2,2- diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, totalphenolic content. The extracts of Moringa oleifera were investigated against some foodborne pathogensinclude Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia. The results ofphytochemical test showed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, tannins, saponins and glycosidesin aqueous and methanolic leaves extracts. The antioxidant activity showed that the aqueous and methanolicleaves extract was more effective than the seed’s husk extract. The radical scavenging capacity (EC50) ofmethanolic and aqueous leaves extract were found to be (1.6 and 1.9 mg/ml) respectively, while the EC50of methanolic and aqueous seed’s husk were (5.1 and 10 mg/ml) respectively. The antibacterial activity ofMoringa oleifera extracts showed the best effect was seen in the aqueous and methanolic leaves extracton Staph. aureus in 200 mg/ml with inhibition zone 14.83 and 22.6 mm respectively. The results of theminimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) showed that the methanolic leaves extract was 16 mg/ml for bothStaph. aureus and E. coli, and 32 mg/ml for B. cereus and K. pneumonia, while the MIC of aqueous leavesextract was 64 mg/ml for all bacterial isolates.