The Effect of Moringa oleifera Extract as Candidate Prebiotic to Increase the Growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus plantarum Probiotics

Abstract

Objectives: The potential of probiotics can be increased by adding prebiotics, which are substances that cannot be digested, but can be used by probiotics to increase their growth. Prebiotics generally consist of oligosaccharides. Moringa oleifera has potential as a prebiotic candidate. This study aims to prove the use of Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) extract as a prebiotic candidate to increase the growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) and Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) probiotics. Methods: This study consisted of 4 treatments and each treatment was repeated 5 times. The treatments consisted of: P0: 0% Moringa oleifera extract, P1: 0.1% Moringa oleifera extract (v/v), P2: 0.2% M. oleifera extract (v/v), P3: 0.3% M. oleifera extracts (v/v). The probiotic concentration is 1.5x108CFU/ml. Results: The results showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) between treatments on the growth of L. plantarum and L. acidophilus probiotics. The use of 0.3% M. oleifera extract produced the highest number of colonies on the growth of L.plantarum, which was not different from the use of 0.2% M. oleifera extract, while the use of 0.3% M. oleifera extract resulted in the highest number of colonies on the growth of L. acidophilus which was different with all treatments. Conclusion: Based on the research results, it can be concluded that the use of 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% M. oleifera extract can increase the growth of L. acidophilus and L. plantarum probiotics, so that M. oleifera extract can be used as a prebiotic candidate.
Keywords: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Moringa oleifera extract, Synbiotic.