Analysis of Moringa oleifera (leaves and flowers) to determine some phytochemicals and functional groups

Abstract

The infra-red (IR) spectra analysis of moringa oleifera indicated the presence of the following functional groups and their frequency ranges which includes; O-H stretching vibrations (3790-3390), C-H stretching (2953-2752), N-H stretch (1643-1514),C=N symmetric stretching (2723-2351) bending, N=O symmetric stretching (1460-1305), C-N stretch (1265-1033),C=O stretching(1651-1566) and C=C bending (1033-721). The phytochemical analysis of moringa leaves using standard procedures shows it contains (%) saponin 5.0%, flavonoid 5.42%, alkaloid 5.36% and cyanogenic glycoside 3.3% while the saponin, flavoniod, alkaloid and cyanogenic glycoside in flower are 3.20%, 7.12%, 1.55% and 2.6% respectively. This result shows that the presence of saponin, alkaloid and cyanogenic glycoside are higher in moringa leaves than its flowers while flavonoid is higher in concentration in moringa oleifera flower than its leaves. It has been shown from the analysis that the percentages of the phytochemicals are not lethal especially the cyanogenic glycoside in the sample which indicates less toxicity and a minor quantity of hydrogen cyanide which can easily be detoxified for better health benefits.