Comparative study of essential elements in parts of <i>Moringa oleifera</i> plant as promedicine

Abstract

This study presents the mineral composition of the parts of Moringa oleifera in Zaria. Samples of the parts were wet digested and analyzed for various minerals using Varian Instrument AA240FS for the atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The contents of Zn, Fe, Ca, Cu and Mg in the parts (roots, stem barks, pods, seed cases/shell, seeds and leaves) of Moringa oleifera were found to be 0.096, 0.872, 12.317, 0.008 and 2.076 mg/g in the roots respectively; 0.022, 0.412, 0.29.397, 0.005, and 3.729 mg/g in the stem barks respectively; 0.021, 0.017, 8.048, 0.003 and 1.827 mg/g in the pods respectively; 0.019, 0.056, 6.467, 0.002, and 1.551 mg/g in the seed cases/shells respectively; 0.017, 0.029, 4.217, 0.001 and 1.616 mg/g in the seeds respectively and in the leaves 0.017, 0.205, 19.974, 0.005 and 2.494 mg/g respectively. The contents of different minerals in the parts of M. oleifera varied from parts to parts. This variation in the contents of various minerals within the parts might be attributed to the variable uptake of minerals by the plant material and variable agro-climatic conditions of the subject region. The results of the present analysis revealed that parts of M. oleifera contained a considerably high amount of Zn, Fe, Ca, Cu and Mg that can be used as a viable supplement of medicinal and dietary minerals which makes it a promising pro-medicine.

Keywords: Minerals, oleifera, dietary-supplements