<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p><italic>Moringa oleifera</italic> (Moringa) is a highly valued plant and various parts of this plant are employed for the therapeutic purposes in the indigenous system of medicine. This study was undertaken to compare the phytochemical, mineral, proximate and antioxidant constituents of the aqueous, ethanol and coconut oil extracts of <italic>M. oleifera</italic> leaf, seed and pod. Pulverized samples of the leaves, seeds and pods were extracted separately with distilled water, ethanol and coconut oil. The proximate analysis was carried out using standard AOAC protocols while the mineral contents were analyzed through atomic absorption spectrometry. The phytochemicals and antioxidants constituents of the extracts were analysed using standard protocols. The phytochemical screening of <italic>M. oleifera</italic> revealed the presence of alkaloids in each extract of the leaf, seed and pod in varying concentrations with the absence of phlobatannins in all sampled parts. Proximate composition of <italic>M. oleifera</italic> revealed higher percentage of crude protein (26.05±0.01 %) and total fatty acid (5.42±0.01 %) in the seed, while the leaf had higher percentage of fibre (8.12±0.02 %) and ash (7.82±0.02 %). The pod showed higher percentage of carbohydrate (72.05±0.2 %) and the seed revealed lowest moisture content (3.12±0.01 %) compared to other sampled parts. Sodium was revealed as the highest composition of mineral in each part of the plant. The result for antioxidant activity revealed that the leaf, seed and pod extracts have stronger scavenging effect on nitric oxide radical compared to the standards (ascorbic acid 8467.15μg/ml) and the least scavenging effect on FRAP. The results obtained from this study validate the pharmacological and nutritional potentials of <italic>M. oleifera</italic> and its use in treating different ailments as used in traditional medicine.</p>
</abstract>

Moringa oleifera (Moringa) is a highly valued plant and various parts of this plant are employed for the therapeutic purposes in the indigenous system of medicine. This study was undertaken to compare the phytochemical, mineral, proximate and antioxidant constituents of the aqueous, ethanol and coconut oil extracts of M. oleifera leaf, seed and pod. Pulverized samples of the leaves, seeds and pods were extracted separately with distilled water, ethanol and coconut oil. The proximate analysis was carried out using standard AOAC protocols while the mineral contents were analyzed through atomic absorption spectrometry. The phytochemicals and antioxidants constituents of the extracts were analysed using standard protocols. The phytochemical screening of M. oleifera revealed the presence of alkaloids in each extract of the leaf, seed and pod in varying concentrations with the absence of phlobatannins in all sampled parts. Proximate composition of M. oleifera revealed higher percentage of crude protein (26.05±0.01 %) and total fatty acid (5.42±0.01 %) in the seed, while the leaf had higher percentage of fibre (8.12±0.02 %) and ash (7.82±0.02 %). The pod showed higher percentage of carbohydrate (72.05±0.2 %) and the seed revealed lowest moisture content (3.12±0.01 %) compared to other sampled parts. Sodium was revealed as the highest composition of mineral in each part of the plant. The result for antioxidant activity revealed that the leaf, seed and pod extracts have stronger scavenging effect on nitric oxide radical compared to the standards (ascorbic acid 8467.15μg/ml) and the least scavenging effect on FRAP. The results obtained from this study validate the pharmacological and nutritional potentials of M. oleifera and its use in treating different ailments as used in traditional medicine.

Comparative Study of the Phytochemical Profile, Proximate Content and Antioxidant Properties of Leaves, Seeds and Pods of <italic>Moringa oleifera</italic>

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science

Organic and Natural Products Research Unit, Department of Chemistry

Annals of Science and Technology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Comparative Study of the Phytochemical Profile, Proximate Content and Antioxidant Properties of Leaves, Seeds and Pods of 

Moringa oleifera (Moringa) is a highly valued plant and various parts of this plant are employed for the therapeutic purposes in the indigenous system of...

Comparative Study of the Phytochemical Profile, Proximate Content and Antioxidant Properties of Leaves, Seeds and Pods of Moringa oleifera

Published Online: Dec 23, 2022

Page range: 62 - 68

Received: Aug 26, 2022

Accepted: Nov 24, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ast-2022-0010

Keywords
ethanol, proximate, mineral, phytochemical, antioxidant

© 2022 Anita K. Asekunowo et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Comparative Study of the Phytochemical Profile, Proximate Content and Antioxidant Properties of Leaves, Seeds and Pods of Moringa oleifera

Published Online: Dec 23, 2022

Page range: 62 - 68

Received: Aug 26, 2022

Accepted: Nov 24, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ast-2022-0010

Keywordsethanol, proximate, mineral, phytochemical, antioxidant

© 2022 Anita K. Asekunowo et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
ethanol, proximate, mineral, phytochemical, antioxidant