Formulation and evaluation of in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of herbal hydrogel loaded with Moringa oleifera leaf extract

Abstract

Herbal preparations, usually containing highly concentrated crude drugs of plants materials have been used traditionally to treat various disorders in developing countries including Nigeria. In this work, herbal preparation in form of hydrogels containing Moringa oleifera leaf extract were formulated and evaluated for phytochemicals, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities using standard procedures. The result obtained shows the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the M. oleifera leaf extract to be 288.59±34.18 mg GAE/g and 242.19±32.40 mg GAE/g respectively. The result of the antioxidant activities revealed that HG2 (10%) hydrogel possesses higher scavenging activities compared to HG1 (5%) hydrogel at different concentrations. The antimicrobial activity of the hydrogels was found to be higher for GH1 (5%) in most bacteria across various concentrations while Candida albican showed higher sensitivity to HG2 (10%). Hydrogels are excellent drug carriers that ensure controlled release of active ingredients. An uncontrolled release of active component of herbal preparations and lack of proper dosage may contribute to adverse side effects recorded for traditional herbal preparations. Development of carrier systems that control the release of active ingredients of herbal drugs is strongly recommended in order to minimize the negative side effect of these preparations.