Chemical and biological studies on Moringa oleifera L. cultivated in Egypt

Abstract

Background Nowadays, Moringa oleifera is being cultivated in Egypt on a wide scale owing to its proven medicinal and economic benefits. Objective The aim was to estimate quantitatively different phenolic acids and flavonoids in the M. oleifera L. leaves. Moreover, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis was carried out to evaluate seed oil obtained by three different methods of extraction. Different plant extracts were tested for their hepatoprotective, anticancer, and antibacterial activities. Materials and methods Quantification of different phenolic acids and flavonoids in M. oleifera L. leaves was carried out using HPLC. GC/MS was used to determine fatty acid methyl esters of M. oleifera L. seed oil, extracted by three different methods (cold press, solvent extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction). Moreover, in-vitro investigations of hepatoprotective, anticancer, and antibacterial activities were done. Results and conclusion HPLC profiling of leaves extract indicated that ellagic acid is the major phenolic acid (120.15 mg/g). Quercetin and rutin were recorded as major flavonoids. GC/MS of seed oil extracted by ultrasound-assisted extraction showed the presence of higher content of oleic acid comparable with other extraction techniques. The petroleum ether fraction of the leaves showed the most potent hepatoprotective and anticancer effects, whereas the ethanolic extract was active against the tested gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. Our findings confirm that M. oleifera L. cultivated in Egypt has unique phytochemical content (comparable with M. oleifera cultivated in other countries); consecutively, it has many potent biological activities. So, it is highly recommended to cultivate the plant species on a wide scale to make use of its constituents in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.