Anti-nutritional Factors in the Roots of a Local Cultivar of Moringa oleifera (Lam)

Abstract

The evergreen plant, Moringa oleifera (Lam) has been known to have both medicinal and nutritional properties, thus its wide use in traditional medicine in Africa and Asia. The roots, in particular, have been reported to possess antibiotic, anti-tumour and anti-oxidative activities. This study therefore seeks to determine the levels of the anti-nutritional factors and other proximate analyses in the roots of a local cultivar of Moringa oleifera which might be responsible for such activities. The concentrations of oxalates and phytates in the roots were determined using the methods of Munro and Bassir and Griffith and Thomas, respectively. The methods of Association of Analytical Chemists (AOAC) were used to estimate the amount of tannins, saponins and cyanogenic glycosides while the Technicon sequential Multi-sample amino acid analyzer (TSM) was used determine the amino acid concentration in the roots. Tannins (45 mg 100 g(-1)) and oxalates (17.08 mg 100 g(-1)) were present in the roots at higher levels while saponins (4.20mg 100 g(-1)), cyanogenic glycosides (2.72 mg 100 g(-1)) and phytates (0.07 mg 100 g(-1)) occurred at much lower levels. The roots contained (Mean +/- Standard Error of mean) %crude lipid (6.33 +/- 1.64), %crude proteins (5.02 +/- 1.52), %carbohydrates (76.75), %ash (4.97 +/- 0.53) and %moisture (6.93 +/- 0.58). The roots lacked the water-soluble vitamins pyridoxine, riboflavin and thiamine but contained ascorbic acid (48.13 mg 100 g(-1)) and niacin (5.83 mg 100 g(-1)). This study has shown that Moringa oleifera roots are rich in anti-nutritional factors and that is why they are widely used in traditional medicine in Africa, Asia and Americas for its medicinal importance.

Food safety assessment of an antifungal protein from Moringa oleifera seeds in an agricultural biotechnology perspective

“…As recently reviewed by Stohs and Hartman (2015), a considerable number of human and animal as well as in vitro studies indicate that various preparations of M. oleifera leaves and other plant parts have demonstrated a very high degree of safety. On the other hand, some reports on adverse effects of M. oleifera isolated compounds or preparations have been described in animal or in vitro studies, such as effects in female reproductive system (Sethi et al, 1988;Shukla et al, 1988;Prakash et al, 1987), genoand cytotoxic activities (Villasenor et al, 1989;Rolim et al, 2011;Asare et al, 2012;Araújo et al, 2013), hypotensive effects (Faizi et al, 1994(Faizi et al, , 1998, source of antinutritional factors (Igwilo et al, 2013(Igwilo et al, , 2014, hepatic and renal damage (Oyagbemi et al, 2013), and acidosis (Omabe et al, 2014). In parallel to the scientific data, for hundreds of years several parts of M. oleifera have been consumed by humans and animals in many tropical and subtropical countries with no reports of toxic effects (Fahey, 2005;Thurber and Fahey, 2009).…”

Effects of Moringa oleifera on Glycaemia and Insulin Levels: A Review of Animal and Human Studies

“…Roots possess higher amounts of antinutrients as compared with other parts of the MO tree, limiting its edible use. Roots have higher concentrations of tannins and oxalates, which are not useful as nutritional sources; as well, they contain high levels of carbohydrates, sodium, arginine, lysine, and ascorbic acid (but they lack thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine) [24]. In animal models, the use of bark and roots has proved to serve as an antiulcer agent, together with antisecretory and cytoprotective activity [25].…”

The role of Moringa oleifera pods, seeds, bark and root as functional food

“…Moringa oleifera seeds consist of 28.77% carbs, 28.02% crude protein, 33.78% crude fat, 94.74 mg/100 g vitamin C, 2.84 mg/100 g calcium, and 129.03 mg/100 g sodium (Igwilo et al, 2017). The amount of cystine and methionine in Moringa oleifera seeds is comparable to that of eggs and milk.…”