Beyond clarifying water, moringa seed can reduce harmful bacteria — a key concern for safe drinking water. This study examined whether shelling the seed (removing the husk) changes how well Moringa oleifera reduces fecal coliform bacteria.
Published in the open-access NIPES Journal of Science and Technology Research, the team treated naturally occurring water with shelled and unshelled moringa seed solutions (50 mL and 75 mL at 40 g/L) under identical conditions and measured coliform reduction.
Key findings
- Shelled moringa seed achieved about 76% fecal-coliform reduction, versus ~73.5% for unshelled.
- Lowest coliform counts after treatment were around 1811–1899 cfu/mL.
- Seed preparation (shelled vs unshelled) measurably affects disinfection performance.
Caveat: moringa reduces but does not eliminate coliforms; it is best used as part of a treatment process, not a sole disinfectant.
Summary of: Ohazurike, E. & Ikpemo, O. (2020). “Effect of Shelled and Unshelled Moringa Seed on Fecal Coliform Reduction in Water Treatment.” NIPES J. Sci. Technol. Res., 2(2), 134-141. DOI: 10.37933/nipes/2.2.2020.13. Summarised by MORIFA; full paper via the link above.