A Review on Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Moringa oleifera Leaves: Their Principle, Advantages, and Disadvantages

Abstract

Moringa oleifera, belongs to the Moringaceae family, is an indigenous plant and native to the North India region. It has been used for centuries as traditional medicine and nutritional supplement. Moringa olefeira leaves contain high phenolics and flavonoid compounds as major constituents such as kaempferol, quercetin, caffeoylquinic acid, coumaroylquinic acid, and feruloylquinic acid. The extraction techniques play a critical role in the extraction outcome such as crude extracts yield, type and quantity of compound extracted. To date, there is a wide range of technologies for crude plant extraction such as ultrasoundassisted extraction, microwave-assisted extraction Soxhlet extraction, and dipping (maceration) technique. These extraction techniques employ various types of solvent which could enhance the efficiency of extraction and quality of the compound extracted. Hence, this review aims to describe and compare the conventional and novel extraction techniques methods of Moringa oleifera leaves based on the total phenolics content, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity. The difference based on the extraction process principle, advantages, and disadvantages were further evaluated to show the suitability, environmentally friendly, the economic feasibility of the various extraction methods. From this review, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) have minimized the processing time, which is useful for extracting thermolabile compounds, such as phenol compounds. In conclusion, novel extraction techniques could be effectively enhancing the total phenolic compound, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities of crude extracts, which provides a theoretical basis for upgrading to alarge-scale applicationin the future.