This study was conducted to investigate the antimicrobial activities of different solvent extracts of Moringa stenopetala (MS) leaves against nine selected pathogenic microorganisms. The disc diffusion method was used to assess antimicrobial activity and determine minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). Methanol, and chloroform extracts showed significant inhibitory activity against Klebsiella pneumoniae and Bacillus cereus. The greatest antimicrobial activity, determined by lowest MIC values (62.5 μg/mL), was observed for inhibition of C. albicans by the ethanol extract and Streptococcus pneumoniae by the methanol extract. The MICs of chloroform extract were 125 μg/mL against Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and B. cereus. Water extract showed the lowest inhibition against these microorganisms, with MIC values of 250 μg/mL. The data presented in this study suggest that MS leaves have great potential in the development of food preservatives and antibiotic drugs.
Keywords: disc diffusion; extracts; inhibition; minimum inhibitory concentrations.