The Antibacterial Efficacy Of Ethanolic Whole-Leaf Moringa Oleifera Sub-Fractions On Escherichia Coli

In an effort to provide safer alternative options to pharmaceutical-based antibacterial treatment for infection-induced preterm labor, we have previously used whole-leaf extracts and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-isolated subfractions of hydroethanolic Moringa oleifera (MO) to screen the antibacterial efficacy of MO against Escherichia coli (E. coli), a leading cause of urinary tract infections associated with preterm labor. These earlier studies found the ethanolic whole-leaf extract as well as three subfractions out of eight, to be the most potent. Here, we test the potency of each sub-fraction as well as investigate whether the antibacterial effects of the most potent leaf sub-fractions act synergistically, using in vitro liquid broth assays in a dose-dependent manner. Of the eight sub-fraction screened, sub-fraction five exerted the most antibacterial efficacy against E. coli. No significant synergistic antibacterial activity was observed between subfractions four, five, and six. We conclude that the anti-bacterial activity of whole leaf M. oleifera is exerted by the potent subfractions in a non-synergistic manner. Ongoing studies in our lab are testing the antibacterial potential of MO whole seed extracts.