First Report on Evaluation of Basic Nutritional and Antioxidant Properties of Moringa Oleifera Lam. from Caribbean Island of Saint Lucia

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. has been considered as a multipurpose tree. The studies on it focus on its variable nutritional benefits. It is growing in many regions, but information about nutritional properties of those growing in the Caribbean is missing. The present study focused on biochemical analysis of main nutritional and antioxidant properties in plant material—dried leaves and seeds—of Moringa oleifera. The composition of lipids, proteins, and vitamin E was evaluated in powdered dried leaves and seeds. Fatty acids were evaluated in oil extracted from the moringa seeds. Potential antioxidant properties of the moringa were evaluated in extract from crushed and powdered leaves, as well as from the powdered seeds. The total amounts of lipids, proteins, and vitamin E were higher in powdered seeds (31.85%, 35.13%, and 220.61 mg/kg) than in powdered leaves (12.48%, 20.54%, and 178.10 mg/kg). The main compound of fatty acids presented oleic acid (76.78%) in seeds’ oil and oleic (25.01%), palmitic (24.84%), and linolenic (24.71%) acids in leaves. Neohesperidin (126.8 mg/kg), followed by chlorogenic acid (99.96 mg/kg) and quercetin (43.44 and 21.44 mg/kg) were main phenolic compounds identified. Total phenols in powdered leaves’ extract (635.6 mg GAE/L) was higher than in powdered seeds’ extract (229.5 mg GAE/L). The activity against superoxide radical and hydroxyl radical was 92.4% and 73.1% by leaves’ powder extract and 83.6% and 60.7% by crushed-leaf extract; seed-powder extract exhibited a pro-oxidation activity (−68.4%) against superoxide radical and the lowest antioxidant effect against the hydroxyl radical (55.0%).

Seasonal Variability of Juniperus communis L. Berry Ethanol Extracts: 1. In Vitro Hydroxyl Radical Scavenging Activity

“…The deoxyribose assay was applied to measure HO• scavenging capacity [ 26 ] with small modifications [ 27 ]. The antioxidant activity of each sample, expressed as percentage of inhibition (POI), was calculated.…”

“…The total phenolic contents of the ethanol extracts of leaves were determined with the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent (FCR, Merck) according to [ 28 ] with slight modifications [ 27 ]. The amounts of polyphenols in the samples were calculated as gallic acid equivalents (GAE).…”

Malus baccata var. gracilis and Malus toringoides Bark Polyphenol Studies and Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities

“…Tree barks are promising sources of these polyphenols; they contain phenolic acids, flavonoids, and catechins, as well as sugars [2,12,19,21,22]. Phenolic acids are an important group of phenols as they act as antioxidant agents and have, for example, anticancer and antimicrobial properties [3,[23][24][25][26][27].Microbial infections with Staphylococcus aureus cause serious human diseases such as soft tissue infection, pneumonia, sepsis, and peritonitis [28,29]. Other serious diseases, such as listeriosis (which leads to preterm birth and miscarriage) and mild gastroenteritis of immunocompetent individuals, are caused by the bacterial foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes [30].…”

“…Tree barks are promising sources of these polyphenols; they contain phenolic acids, flavonoids, and catechins, as well as sugars [2,12,19,21,22]. Phenolic acids are an important group of phenols as they act as antioxidant agents and have, for example, anticancer and antimicrobial properties [3,[23][24][25][26][27].…”

Biological effect of astaxanthin on alcohol-induced gut damage in Carassius auratus used as experimental model

“…Natural astaxanthin is produced by microbial fermentation using either yeasts (such as Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous) or microalgae (such as Haematococcus pluvialis). There is a strong scientific interest in natural biomolecules for their its potential therapeutic health benefits as a commercial food supplements and source of potential pharmaceuticals (Fej er et al 2019;Calabr o et al 2020).…”