Phytochemical and Nutritional Evaluation of Southeastern Nigerian Grown Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract

Abstract

Herbal medicine is based on the premise that plants contain natural substances that can promote health and alleviate illnesses. The plant kingdom represents a rich store house of organic compounds, many of which have been used for medicinal purposes. In recent times, focus on plant research has increased all over the world and a large body of evidence has shown immense potentials of medicinal plants in various traditional systems. The aqueous leaf extract of M. oleifera, obtained during the dry season (October, 2015) from the Southeastern Nigeria, was subjected to qualitative and quantitative screening for chemical constituents using standard procedures. The result showed the presence of flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, carotenoids, phenols and tannins. The proximate analysis showed the presence of carbohydrates (57.71±0.01%), protein (16.09±0.02%), fats (2.84±0.02%), crude fiber (9.11±0.01%), moisture (4.08±0.04%) and ash (10.06±0.04%). The mineral constituents showed nitrogen (6.03±0.02 g/100 g), calcium (3.09±0.01 g/100 g), magnesium (0.04±0.03 g/100 g), potassium (2.6±0.02 g/100 g), phosphorus (0.48±0.04 g/100 g), zinc (0.09±0.00 g/100 g), copper (0.06±0.03 g/100 g), iron (0.82±0.21 g/100 g) and sulphur (0.92±0.06 g/100 g). The chemical compounds found in the leaf extracts of M. oleifera grown in Southeastern Nigeria have good pharmacological properties. In Nigeria, the plant is widely used for the treatment of bacterial infection, fungal infection, diabetes, anti-inflammation, sexually-transmitted diseases, malnutrition and diarrhoea. This finding validates the claims of M. oleifera as possessing nutritional and ethno-medicinal properties.