Assessing the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Moringa oleifera – A comparative study between deionised water and Zamzam water as solvent

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of different M. oleifera leaf extracts while exploiting the potential of using Zamzam water as a solvent for the phytochemical extraction. Six solvents were used in the extraction protocol: deionised water (DW), Zamzam water (ZW), deionised water/ethanol (DWE), Zamzam water/ethanol (ZWE), deionised water/acetone (DWA) and Zamzam water/acetone (ZWA). The antimicrobial activities of the extracts were tested against the following microorganisms: S. aureus, B. cereus, B. subtilis, P. aeruginosa, E. coli, P. mirabilis and C. albicans. The least MIC value reported was 6.25 mg/ml with B. subtilis with ZWA while having an MBC value of 50 mg/ml. The highest phenolic content (122.18± 0.45 mg GAE/g extract) as well as the flavonoid content (316.0 ± 6.5 mg QE/g extract) was observed with ZWA. With the DPPH assay, the IC50 values varied from 5.362 ± 0.146 mg/ml to 0.617 ± 0.005 mg/ml with ZWA having the lowest value. Overall, the acetone extracts showed higher biological activity in almost all the assays performed. Interesting findings were also obtained when the DPPH assay was done; revealing the possibility of the two types of water used affecting the results obtained.