Chemical Characterization and Nutritional Markers of South African Moringa oleifera Seed Oils

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam (syn. M. ptreygosperma Gaertn.) leaves are globally acclaimed for their nutritional content and mitigation of malnutrition. In most impoverished rural communities including Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal of South Africa, powdered leaves of Moringa oleifera are applied as a nutritional supplement for readily available food such as porridge for malnourished children and even breast-feeding mothers. Widely practiced and admired is also the use of the plant seed in the do-it-yourself purification of water by rural South Africans. This study aimed at identifying the chemical and nutritional marker compounds present in South African Moringa oleifera seed oils using high resolution 1-2-dimension gas chromatography in order to give scientific validation to its uses in cosmetics and particularly in culinary practices. Results obtained from two-dimension tandem mass spectrometry chemical signature revealed over 250 compounds, five times more than those reported from one-dimension gas chromatography. Whereas previous reports from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis reported oleic acid (70–78%) as the major compound from oil samples from other countries, M. oleifera seed oil from South Africa is marked by cis-13-octadeaconic acid with 78.62% and 41.9% as the predominant monounsaturated fatty acid in the hexane and dichloromethane extracts respectively. This was followed by cis-vaccenic acid, an isomer of oleic acid at 51% in the acetone extract, 9-octadecanoic acid-(z)-methyl ester at 39.18%, 21.34% and 10.06% in dichloromethane, hexane and acetone extracts respectively. However, a principal component analysis with R2 = 0.98 of the two-dimension tandem mass spectrometry cum chemometric analysis indicated n-hexadecanoic acid, oleic acid, 9-octadecanoic acid-(z)-methyl ester and cis-vaccenic acid with a probability of 0.96, 0.88, 0.80 and 0.79 respectively as the marker compounds that should be used for the quality control of moringa seed oils from South Africa. This study demonstrates that South African Moringa oleifera oils contain C-18 monounsaturated fatty acids similar to oils from Egypt (76.2%), Thailand (71.6%) and Pakistan (78.5%) just to mention but a few. These fatty acids are sunflower and olive oil type-compounds and therefore place moringa seed oil for consideration as a cooking oil amongst its other uses.

Gas chromatography‐mass spectrophotometric profile of cold‐pressed Celastrus paniculatus seed oil and its high‐performance thin‐layer chromatographic analysis emphasizing squalene content

“…One of the minor compounds, that is, 9‐Desoxo‐9x‐hydroxy‐7‐ketoingol 3,8,9,12‐ tetraacetate is reported to be a new phytoconstituent in leaf extract of Sinapis arvenis and Moringa oleifera seed oil [27, 28]. This is the first report where the squalene in Celastrus paniculatus oil has been detected.…”

Effects of Moringa oleifera Seed Oil on Cultured Human Sebocytes In Vitro and Comparison with Other Oil Types

“…A current comparison of Moringa seed oil from Egypt, Pakistan, South Africa and Thailand has shown a fatty acid content of olive oil type placing Moringa seed oil for consideration as a cooking oil amongst its other uses [ 5 ].…”

“…Seed pressing produces one of the most stable vegetable oils (Moringa seed oil), which has a long shelf life and does not go rancid. The long shelf life of the oil is based on its higher stability against oxygen due to the low content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), whose double bounds are very susceptible to oxidation [ 5 ]. Moringa seed oil is rated among the “high oleic oils” with a high monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA)/PUFA ratio, comparable to olive oil; these are associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular events and stroke [ 6 ].…”

In Vivo Study of Moringa oleifera Seed Extracts as Potential Sources of Neuroprotection against Rotenone-Induced Neurotoxicity

“…Thus, the composition of plant extract largely depends on the solvent used and using extracts of the same plant with different solvents may lead to different therapeutic results. Similarly, a recent study reports over 250 compounds in two-dimension tandem mass spectrometry-based chemical analysis of MO seed extracts, pointing it to a potential source of bioactive compounds for therapeutic benefits [ 21 ]. The seeds of MO contain alkaloids, flavonoids, low-molecular-weight cationic proteins and methyl esters [ 22 ].…”