In vitro Antifungal Activity of Extracts of Moringa oleifera on Phytopathogenic Fungi Affecting Carica papaya

BACKGROUND: Plants remain the natural sources of efficacious phytonutrients with beneficial assets to mankind against microbial disorders. Diverse folklores have reported the roles of medicinal plants in the remedies of various disorders in man and animals. Metabolites and pesticides from the plant origin are considered better alternatives due to favorable environmental impact as compared to the synthetic counterparts. Significant economic losses and hindrance of global papaya production are due to fungal diseases. Phytochemicals have made medicinal plants become sources of environmentally friendly alternative antimicrobials. AIM: This study aimed at assessing the antifungal activity of leaf extracts of Moringa oleifera against phytopathogenic fungi isolated from Carica papaya. METHODS: n-Hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol, and aqueous extracts of M. oleifera leaves were evaluated for their antifungal properties. Agar well-diffusion method was implemented for in vitro screening, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the extract types against fungal species of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus, and Trichoderma. RESULTS: All the extracts evaluated inhibited fungal growth to some degree, with the aqueous extract exhibiting more inhibitory activities than the organic extracts. There was significant inhibition of fungal development by the tested plant extracts at different concentrations. MIC of the extracts was 15.625 mg/ml while the MFC values ranged between 15.625 and 31.25. In this work, the antifungal activity of M. oleifera was found to be equal or higher than commercially available fungicide, ketoconazole. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that foliole extracts of M. oleifera have potential for use as biofungicides for plant protection against fungal diseases