Phytochemical Analysis of Dried Moringa oleifera Leaf Powder

By : Sakshi Pathak , Bharti Jain

Page No: 177-184

Abstract
Moringa oleifera is a bio-diversified plant found in many countries of the world specifically tropical and subtropical areas. The leaves of M. oleifera are enormous source of various nutrients and bioactive compounds. These bioactive compounds are secondary metabolites called phytochemicals. The presence of phytochemicals in M. oleifera leaves contributes to its medicinal and therapeutic properties. The present study was carried out with the objective to analyse the content of certain phytochemicals i.e. total phenol content, flavonoids, tanins, saponins, and alkaloids in dried M. oleifera leaves. The analysis was done on the extract of four different dried M. oleifera leaf samples using appropriate methods. It was found that the average content of various phytochemicals in per 100 gm of all four samples was 4.70±0.64 mg of total phenol, 0.58±0.15 mg of flavonoids, 25.27±1.68 mg of alkaloids, 16.02±3.18 mg of saponins and 4.55±0.41 mg of tanins. The highest content was of alkaloids. The presence of these phytochemicals in dried M. oleifera leaves indicates that dried leaf powder of M. oleifera can be used for various pharmacological and medicinal purposes.

Authors :
Sakshi Pathak : Senior Research fellow, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, India.
Bharti Jain : Professor and Head, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, India.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/JPSR.2023.39.01.17