Antibacterial Activity and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry of Study Moringa oleifera Leaf

Introduction: In recent time, high incidence of resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics has increased the focus and demand for medicinal plants. Moringa oleifera is among such herbs with high demand that have served as sources of therapy to both man and animal.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial property of M. oleifera and evaluate the functional groups of its bioactive responsible for its medicinal value.

Methods: The crude extracts were purified and the antibacterial screening against test isolates were determined by using standard techniques. The functional groups were recorded based on the peaks observed on FTIR spectra. The antibiotic sensitivity test was carried out in order to compare the susceptibility of the microorganisms to the five (5) different commercial antibiotics.

Results: In M. oleifera fractions, highest susceptibility was observed in Klebsiella pneumoniae (44.00±0.00 mm) whereas a lowest value (20.00±0.00 mm) was recorded against Escherichia coli. The range of zone of inhibition of the commercial antibiotics observed was from 6.80±0.20 mm to 28.67±0.67 mm with chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin respectively. The FTIR spectrum of the extracts confirmed the presence of secondary alcohols, phenols, alkanes, alkenes, carboxylic acids, sulphonamide, nitro-compounds and amines.

Conclusion: These results obtained from this work justify the use of this plant in folk medicine for the treatment of various diseases in human and also revealed the herbs as novel drug sources.