ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF CHITOSAN, MORINGA OLEIFERA, CROTON ZAMBESICUSAND THEIR SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITY AS AN IMMUNE BOOSTER

The plants used for this study were selected from a collection of medicinal herbs collected from traditional healers during a prior ethnobotanical investigation. Chitosan derived from chitin is effective as an antibacterial agent in pharmaceutics. The Mauline, 2017 approach, which incorporates processing/maceration, demineralization, deproteinization, and deacetylation, was used to synthesize chitosan from crayfish and prawns. Moringaoleifera and Croton zambesicuswere chosen for their phytochemical capabilities, including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. These plants were acquired locally, and combined with the various chitosan extracts in powdered form. They were tested against selected clinically resistant bacterial and fungal isolates. Chitosan extracted from crayfish and the synergized extracts of Chitosan sources with Croton zambesicuswere effective against organisms like Candida albicans, Vibrio cholerae, Enterobacter cloacaeand Salmonella typhiwith 30mm, 13mm and 12mm zones of inhibition respectively. In Table 2, water and diethylether extracts of Croton zambesicus, synergized with one (1%) Chitosan extracted from crayfish were only effective against Bacillus cereus and Eschericha coli. During the experimental stages, both bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal effects were observed in some media cultures however, the overall results from the synergy between Chitosan (crayfish and prawn extracts), Moringa, and Croton zambesicusunderscores the possibilities of exploring these combinations in novel drug designs.