Evaluation of physico-chemical properties and antioxidant capacity of leaf powder of Moringa (Moringa oleifera, Lam) grown in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Moringa oleifera, Lam is widely used in Sri Lankan traditional system of medicine for various disease condition including dyslipidemia, diabetes and inflammatory conditions. Aim of the present study was to evaluate physico-chemical, phytochemical parameters and antioxidant properties of tea bags consist of M. oleifera leaves powder. Physico-chemical properties, phytochemical screening, DPPH radical scavenging activity, total flavonoid content and polyphenolic content were investigated for M. oleifera leaf powder using standard protocols. According to the results, 11.2 ± 0.3% of total ash, 3.4 ± 0.1% of water soluble ash and 0.7 ± 0.0% of acid insoluble ash were present in the leaf powder. Phytochemical screening reveals the presence of tannins, flavonoids, steroid glycosides, coumarins, saponins and cardiac glycosides in both hot water and hot methanolic extracts of M. oleifera leaf powder. TLC fingerprint profile of the methanol and dichloromethane (1:1 v/v) extract of M. oleifera consists of 5 and 10 prominent spots under the UV light and after spraying vanillin sulphate respectively. DPPH radical scavenging activity, total polyphenol content and total flavonoid content of water extract of M. oleifera leaf were 12.58 ± 0.82 mg trolox equivalents/100 ml, 57.63 ± 3.80 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 ml, 20.25 ± 0.54 mg quercetin equivalents/100 ml respectively. Selected M. oleifera leaf powder was effective source for develop functional teabags which comply with good standards