Inhibitory Activity of Distilled water and Ethanol Extracts of Moringa oleifera Leaves Against Enterobacter aerogenes

Enterobacter aerogenes is one of the bacteria that has an important role in converting histidine to histamine in fish. When consumed, histamine in fish can cause poisoning and even death. The growth of bacteria that cause damage to fish can be inhibited in several ways, including the addition of compounds that have the potential to act as bacteriostatic or even bactericide. One of the plants that has the potential as a source of bactericide compounds is drumstic tree (Moringa oleifera Lamk.). This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of several concentrations of Moringa leaves extract using distilled water and ethanol in the inhibition of Enterobacter aerogenes bacteria as a histamine producer. The results showed that distilled water and ethanol extracts of Moringa leaves had an effective inhibition against Enterobacter aerogenes. The distilled water extract at a 40% concentration produced the largest inhibition zone (14.73 cm) while that of the ethanol extract at a 40% concentration was 10.57 cm. The distilled water extract of Moringa leaves is suitable for use because it is cheap, practical, safe for consumption and does not leave any unsafe residue on food.