Comparative study on the antiseptic effects of guava (psidium Guajava), luya (zingiber officinale) and malunggay (moringa oleifera)

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the antiseptic effects of guava (<em>Psidium guajava</em>) leaf extracts, luya (<em>Zingeber officinale</em>) extracts, and malunggay (<em>Moringa oleifera</em>) extracts with betadine as the control. These treatments were tested for their antiseptic effects on two cultured bacteria namely, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Twenty four Mueller Hinton Agar (MHA) plates were prepared for inoculation; these were divided into 4 treatments labeled A, B, C and Control each having 3 plates for every bacterium tested. These were used for susceptibility testing wherein filter paper discs were soaked in guava leaf extract, luya extract, malunggay extract and betadine for 30 minutes. These plates were incubated for 37°C for 24 hours. The zone of inhibition was used as indicator of the antiseptic effect of treatments used in S. aureus and E. coli. Results of the study revealed that malunggay extracts had significantly (P0.01) the best antiseptic effect with the highest value of zone of inhibition at 2.81 mm when applied at S. aureus bacteria. No significant results (P>0.01) were attained in terms of antiseptic effect of treatments used when tested on E.coli bacteria.