ANTIBACTERIAL AND WATER PURIFICATION ACTIVITIES OF MORINGA OLEIFERA

No Thumbnail Available
Date
2006-10
Authors
SANI, FATIMA GWARZO
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The Moringa oleifera seeds and leaves extract using hexane and ethanol as solvents were screened and found to contain important bioactive components, including alkaloids, steroids, tannins, reducing sugar, glycosides, flavonoids, saponnins, resins, and higher fatty acids. They were also screened for their antibacterial activity on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella flexneri, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Enterococcus faecalis, using disc diffusion method. The ethanolic and hexane leaves extract at 10% (100μg/ml) and 20% (200μg/ml) were inhibitory to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while hexane leaves extract at 20% (200μg/ml) was found to be inhibitory to Enterococcus faecalis. Ethanolic Leaves extract at 20% (200μg/ml) was found to be inhibitory to Staphylococcus aureus. On further dilutions, MIC values were 12.00μg/ml for hexane extract and 25.00μg/ml for ethanol extract against Pseudomonas aeruginosa for hexane and ethanolic extracts respectively and the activity was found to be bacteriostatic at the above concentrations. There was no inhibitory activity against all the six bacteria when ethanol and hexane seeds extract are used. The study also revealed the purification activity of seeds of Moringa oleifera, when A.B.U. Dam water was used as raw water. Physio-chemical analysis on water samples after treatment with Moringa seeds viii (suspension) showed that, there was reduction in turbidity from 5NTU (raw water) to 0.81 NTU (water treated with 15mg/l concentration of the seeds suspension). There was also a reduction in hardness from 34mg/l CaCO3 (raw water) to 10-21mg/l CaCO3 of water samples treated with seeds suspension. The pH was found to be independent for both hardness and seed concentrations, it ranges from 6.9-7.4. There was decrease of colour intensity, i.e. 20Ho (raw water) to 5Ho- 15Ho for water treated with seed suspension. Water treated with seed suspension at 10mg/l was the clearest, then followed by that with 15mg/l and 20mg/l and they were all found with lesser turbidity. There was also a reduction in bacterial load from water samples treated with seed and with alum. Paired t test Analysis showed that, there was significant difference between the means of colonies formed between raw water and water treated with seeds at 10-2 i.e. (37.18) (P>0.05, 95% confidence interval). Also there was significance between raw water and water treated with alum at 10-2 i.e. (16.48). However the alum activity was significantly low compared to that of seeds suspension.
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA - NIGERIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS DEGREE IN MICROBIOLOGY. DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY FACULTY OF SCIENCE, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA - NIGERIA OCTOBER, 2006
Keywords
ANTIBACTERIAL,, WATER,, PURIFICATION,, ACTIVITIES,, MORINGA,, OLEIFERA
Citation
Collections