ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF A EXTRACT FROM MORINDA CITRIFOLIA FRUIT

Abstract

The parts of the Morinda citrifolia plant are known containing different biological compounds, those have long been used by folks in the prevention and treatment of diseases. This study was carried out to evaluate the antibacterial ability of the extract of Morinda citrifolia fruit to determine the prospect of using this plant in different applications related to food safety and hygiene. The extract obtained by ethanol solvent showed the presence of chemical agents such as steroids, glycosides, phenolics, tannins, terpernoids, alkaloids, etc., showing the value to research into antibacterial possibility. The evaluation of antibacterial ability showed strong activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538. The extraction by 80% ethanol solvent, the material:solvent ratio for 1:8 in 120 minutes at 40oC was suitable for extracting active ingredients from ripe Morinda citrifolia fruit, the dry[1]matter recovery was obtained at 19,89±1,8% and the antibacterial activity was evaluated through the diameter of inhibition zone at 8,7±1,2 mm. The results demonstrated that the extract from the ripe Morinda citrifolia fruit could be an important natural source of medicinal herbs with high antibacterial activity