Preparation Of Phytochemicals From Moringa oleifera For Preventative Health

Moringa oleifera (MO) is a plant species native to Africa and India that is rich in nutrients and bioactive materials. The phytochemicals within MO have been found to possess significant anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial properties, which make it a useful natural product to characterize. Our aims are to 1) extract plant derived chemicals from MO leaves, 2) provide standardization for the extraction process, 3) identify bioactives in fresh and oxidized MO samples that initiate positive responses to health conditions, and 4) test bioactivity of MO samples using C. elegans models and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Ethanol (80%) was found to be the best solvent for phytochemical extraction, with greater Total Phenolic Content (TPC), and absorbance measurements resulting from polar solvents. GC-MS and LC-MS identification of MO samples returned varying anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and anti-oxidant compounds, such as morin, quercitrin, rutin, and syringic acid. Oxidized and fresh MO samples reported differing phytochemicals, with fresh samples containing more phenolics and anti-inflammatory compounds. Variation in oxidized and fresh samples could be due to autoxidation, or differences in growth environment. C. elegans treated with MO dilutions showed slight declines in ROS production.