Physicochemical Properties of Moringa Oleifera Seeds: Promising Potential for Applications Across Nutrition and Health Sector

The physicochemical attributes of defatted Moringa oleifera seeds renowned for their versatile health applications have been the focal point of substantial research. This study extensively investigated the nutritional profile of Moringa oleifera seeds to further inform their medicinal use. The defatted seed meal of Moringa oleifera was subjected to proximate, mineral, vitamin and amino acids analyses with the fatty acid composition. The results of the proximate composition show moisture content (9.81 %), ash (3.79 %), crude fibre (4.95 %), protein (23.97 %), crude fat (5.88 %) and carbohydrate (51.60 %). Mineral composition shows that the seed is rich in potassium, phosphorus, calcium and sodium with 271 mg/100g, 180 mg/100g, 118 mg/100g and 62 mg/100g respectively. The seed has vitamins A and C with 38.12 mg/100g and 45..42 mg/100g respectively. The seed also contains both essential and non-essential amino acids which are present in appreciable concentrations in the defatted seed meal. The seed oil which was extracted with n-hexane gave 34.38 %. The extracted oil revealed iodine value of 61.32 gI2/100g, saponification value, 231 mgKOH/g and acid value of 1.15 mg/g. The oil also contains high levels of unsaturated fatty acids with oleic acids (monounsaturated) having up to 75.7 % but linolenic (polyunsaturated) with 2.12 % while the saturated fatty acids gave a total of 16.39 %. These reveal medicinal composition and emphasizing the promising potentials for application across nutrition and health sectors. This contributes to the expanding body of knowledge concerning the versatility of this medicinal plant to help in times of health challenge.