Antifungal activity of <i>Moringa oleifera</i> leaves crude extract against <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> and <i>Rhizopus stolonifer</i>

Abstract

Moringa oleifera leaves crude extract have been reported to have an invitro antifungal potential on various species of fungi. Therefore, this study was conducted in finding out the invitro effects of methanol and ethanol extracts of Moringa oleifera leaves on some fungal species (Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus stolonifer). The fungal species were isolated from contaminated bread on sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) using agar plate method and microscopic exanimation at Microbiology Laboratory, Federal University Dutse. Moringa oleifera leaves were collected from Federal University Dutse botanical garden, they were processed and extracted using Maceration method. The extracts were screened at varaying concentrations (25mg/ml, 50mg/ml, 100mg/ml, 150mg/ml and 200mg/ml) for their antifungal activity against the test organisms. Aspergillus flavus was more susceptible to the extracts with high mean zone of inhibition of 12.80 ± 0.20mm for methanolic extract and 11.40 ± 0.10mm for ethanolic extract compared to Rhizopus stolonifer with 9.66 ± 0.33mm for methanolic extract and 8.67 ± 0.10mm for ethanolic extract. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of the extract were determined with varying effectiveness of 75mg/ml for Aspergillus flavus and 100mg/ml for Rhizopus stolonifer. This study showed credence to the traditional use of Moringa oleifera leaves in the treatment of diseases caused by Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus stolonifer.