PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF Moringa oleifera TO TREAT DIFFERENT KINDS OF WATER SAMPLES

ABSTRACT

Water quality and treatment are the most important issue in everywhere, especially in the developing countries, where safe and clean water is not continuously provided. Moringa oleifera is one of the best natural coagulants that has effectively used in water treatment. The aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera seeds was evaluated for their efficacy in reducing total bacterial load, coliform count and faecal coliform counts in the treatment of Cauvery river water. The preliminary phytochemical screening and antimicrobial assay were carried out using standard procedures. The results of the phytochemical analysis revealed differences in the presence of the phytochemicals among the extracts. The antibacterial assay results shows that Moringa oleifera seed aqueous extract exhibited broad spectrum activity against the test organisms with Escherichia coli.

Key words: Moringa oleifera, MPN analysis, Phytochemical screening, Antibacterial activity.