Comparative phytochemical analysis of moringa oleifera and moringa peregrina

Moringa peregrina and Moringa oleifera are used in folk medicine and grows widely in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and India. The objectives of this investigation were to determine the phytochemical composition and nutritive contents of Moringa peregrina and Moringa oleifera extracts from the leaves and fruits. The powdered plant samples were examined separately for their phytochemical constituents like total phenol content, micro and macro elements using appropriate methods. They were also subjected to proximate analysis such as ash content, dry matter and crude protein. All the elements content were determined by using ICP AES. According to the nutritional values obtained, the phytochemical and proximate analysis results showed the high percentage in M. oleifera. There was no significant difference in dry matter content between two species. The ash content, total phenol content, protein, micro elements (Ca, K, Mg, Na, P) and macro elements (Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Zn) were higher in M. oleifera when compared to M. peregrina. The extracts from both plants showed the presence of active phytochemicals may provide substantial basis for the use of these plants in ethaomedicine. Their nutritional properties in different parts may provide incentive for proper evaluation of these plants as dietary food as well as medicinal agents essential for human health. Further studies are required to ascertain this conclusion, which are underway in our lab.