Nutritional and phytochemical profiles and biological activities of Moringa oleifera Lam. edible parts from Guinea-Bissau (West Africa)

Ângela Fernandes,Aducabe Bancessi,José Pinela,Maria Inês Dias,Ângela Liberal,Ricardo C Calhelha,Ana Ćirić,Marina Soković,Luís Catarino,Isabel C.F.R Ferreira,Lillian Barros

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128229

Abstract

Moringa oleifera is an edible medicinal plant used to fight malnutrition in Africa. In this study, M. oleifera flowers, fruits and seeds from Guinea-Bissau were characterized for their nutritional composition and hydroethanolic and aqueous extracts were prepared to investigate the phenolic profiles and bioactivities. Seeds presented higher levels of proteins (~31 g/100 g dw), fat (~26 g/100 g dw) and flavan-3-ol derivatives, while carbohydrates, proteins, citric acid, and glycosylated flavonoids were abundant in fruits and flowers, these last samples also being rich in α-tocopherol (~18 mg/100 g dw). Some of the identified polyphenols had never been described in M. oleifera. In general, hydroethanolic extracts contained more polyphenols and were more active against lipid peroxidation, NO production, and tumour cells growth. Significant antimicrobial effects against the tested bacteria and fungi strains were displayed by both hydroethanolic and aqueous extracts. The M. oleifera potential to fight malnutrition and health issues was highlighted.

Highlights

The search for plants and plant-based products that can face the raising necessities of food and medicines in a context of climate changes and food scarcity is nowadays a major challenge in Africa where persist malnutrition problems (Muyonga, Nansereko, Steenkamp, Manley, & Okoth, 2016)
M. oleifera flowers, fruits and seeds from Guinea-Bissau were characterized for their nutritional composition and hydroethanolic and aqueous extracts were prepared to investigate the phenolic profiles and bioactivities
Since the plants composition is affected by different factors, such as the edaphoclimatic conditions of the different growing sites, agri cultural practices, harvesting period, and genetic characteristics, among others (Iyda, Fernandes, Calhelha et al, 2019), the studied samples of M. oleifera were collected at two distinct locations in Guinea-Bissau

Summary

Introduction

The search for plants and plant-based products that can face the raising necessities of food and medicines in a context of climate changes and food scarcity is nowadays a major challenge in Africa where persist malnutrition problems (Muyonga, Nansereko, Steenkamp, Manley, & Okoth, 2016). All M. oleifera parts (including leaves, fruits, seeds, pods, and flowers) have been used in traditional foods and dishes for human consumption (Daba, 2016)

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Conclusion