Moringa oleifera as a potential antimicrobial against pathogenic Clostridium perfringens isolates in farm animals

Clostridium perfringens (CP) is an emerging anaerobic pathogen that can aggravate severe fatal infections in different hosts and livestock.

This paper was designed to monitor the antibacterial efficacy of Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) plant against different CP isolates of variant toxin genotypes comparing that with commercial antibiotics in the veterinary field.

A total of 200 examined fecal, intestinal, and liver samples from cattle, sheep, and goats were investigated bacteriologically and biochemically for CP. Then, the isolates were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for toxin gene typing. Thereafter, the antimicrobial susceptibility testing as well as the antibacterial efficacy of M. oleifera were evaluated and statistically analyzed against recovered isolates.

The prevalence rate of CP was 51% (102/200); of which 54.5% was from cattle, 50% from sheep, and 40% from goat. Moreover, all CP isolates were highly resistant to tetracycline and lincomycin drugs; meanwhile, they were of the least resistance against ciprofloxacin (8.3%-16.7%), cefotaxime (16.7%-25%), and gentamycin (26.7%-33.3%). For M. oleifera, high antibacterial efficacy with greater inhibition zones of the plant was recorded with its oil (20-24 mm) and ethanolic extracts (16-20 mm) against CP than the aqueous extract (≤ 10 mm). A good correlation was stated between M. oleifera oil and toxin type of CP isolates particularly type A followed by D and B types. Interestingly, the oil and ethanolic extracts of M. oleifera gave higher antibacterial efficacy than most commercial antibiotics against the recovered isolates.

This study highlighted the potent antibacterial properties of M. oleifera for suppressing CP isolated from farm animals; hence, more investigations on M. oleifera are suggested to support its use as a medical herbal plant substituting antibiotics hazards and resistance problems worldwide.