Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti
Moringa oleifera is a plant that grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Its leaves are rich of nutrients and bioactive compounds. However, several differences are reported in the literature. In this article we performed a nutritional characterization and a phenolic profiling of M. ole...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2015-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/16/8/18923 |
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| author | Alessandro Leone Giovanni Fiorillo Franca Criscuoli Stefano Ravasenghi Laura Santagostini Gelsomina Fico Angela Spadafranca Alberto Battezzati Alberto Schiraldi Federica Pozzi Sara di Lello Sandro Filippini Simona Bertoli |
| author_facet | Alessandro Leone Giovanni Fiorillo Franca Criscuoli Stefano Ravasenghi Laura Santagostini Gelsomina Fico Angela Spadafranca Alberto Battezzati Alberto Schiraldi Federica Pozzi Sara di Lello Sandro Filippini Simona Bertoli |
| author_sort | Alessandro Leone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Moringa oleifera is a plant that grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Its leaves are rich of nutrients and bioactive compounds. However, several differences are reported in the literature. In this article we performed a nutritional characterization and a phenolic profiling of M. oleifera leaves grown in Chad, Sahrawi refugee camps, and Haiti. In addition, we investigated the presence of salicylic and ferulic acids, two phenolic acids with pharmacological activity, whose presence in M. oleifera leaves has been scarcely investigated so far. Several differences were observed among the samples. Nevertheless, the leaves were rich in protein, minerals, and β-carotene. Quercetin and kaempferol glycosides were the main phenolic compounds identified in the methanolic extracts. Finally, salicylic and ferulic acids were found in a concentration range of 0.14–0.33 and 6.61–9.69 mg/100 g, respectively. In conclusion, we observed some differences in terms of nutrients and phenolic compounds in M. oleifera leaves grown in different countries. Nevertheless, these leaves are a good and economical source of nutrients for tropical and sub-tropical countries. Furthermore, M. oleifera leaves are a source of flavonoids and phenolic acids, among which salicylic and ferulic acids, and therefore they could be used as nutraceutical and functional ingredients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:11:11Z |
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| id | doaj.art-ac5e6a38232f47cfb10c29484bc41a69 |
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| issn | 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:11:11Z |
| publishDate | 2015-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac5e6a38232f47cfb10c29484bc41a692022-12-22T02:49:07ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1422-00672015-08-01168189231893710.3390/ijms160818923ijms160818923Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and HaitiAlessandro Leone0Giovanni Fiorillo1Franca Criscuoli2Stefano Ravasenghi3Laura Santagostini4Gelsomina Fico5Angela Spadafranca6Alberto Battezzati7Alberto Schiraldi8Federica Pozzi9Sara di Lello10Sandro Filippini11Simona Bertoli12International Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status (ICANS), University of Milan, Via Sandro Botticelli 21, 20133 Milan, ItalyInternational Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status (ICANS), University of Milan, Via Sandro Botticelli 21, 20133 Milan, ItalyInternational Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status (ICANS), University of Milan, Via Sandro Botticelli 21, 20133 Milan, ItalyInternational Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status (ICANS), University of Milan, Via Sandro Botticelli 21, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, University of Milan, Via Golgi 19, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (DISFARM), University of Milan, Via Mangiagalli 25, 20133 Milan, ItalyInternational Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status (ICANS), University of Milan, Via Sandro Botticelli 21, 20133 Milan, ItalyInternational Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status (ICANS), University of Milan, Via Sandro Botticelli 21, 20133 Milan, ItalyDepartment of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, ItalyAVSI Foundation, Via Legnone, 20158 Milan, ItalyMovimento Africa 70, Via Missori 14, 20900 Monza, ItalyACRA Foundation, Via Lazzaretto 3, 20124 Milan, ItalyInternational Center for the Assessment of Nutritional Status (ICANS), University of Milan, Via Sandro Botticelli 21, 20133 Milan, ItalyMoringa oleifera is a plant that grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Its leaves are rich of nutrients and bioactive compounds. However, several differences are reported in the literature. In this article we performed a nutritional characterization and a phenolic profiling of M. oleifera leaves grown in Chad, Sahrawi refugee camps, and Haiti. In addition, we investigated the presence of salicylic and ferulic acids, two phenolic acids with pharmacological activity, whose presence in M. oleifera leaves has been scarcely investigated so far. Several differences were observed among the samples. Nevertheless, the leaves were rich in protein, minerals, and β-carotene. Quercetin and kaempferol glycosides were the main phenolic compounds identified in the methanolic extracts. Finally, salicylic and ferulic acids were found in a concentration range of 0.14–0.33 and 6.61–9.69 mg/100 g, respectively. In conclusion, we observed some differences in terms of nutrients and phenolic compounds in M. oleifera leaves grown in different countries. Nevertheless, these leaves are a good and economical source of nutrients for tropical and sub-tropical countries. Furthermore, M. oleifera leaves are a source of flavonoids and phenolic acids, among which salicylic and ferulic acids, and therefore they could be used as nutraceutical and functional ingredients.http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/16/8/18923Moringa oleiferaproximate analysisantioxidantflavonoidsphenolic acidssalicylic acidferulic acidChadSahrawiHaiti |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Leone Giovanni Fiorillo Franca Criscuoli Stefano Ravasenghi Laura Santagostini Gelsomina Fico Angela Spadafranca Alberto Battezzati Alberto Schiraldi Federica Pozzi Sara di Lello Sandro Filippini Simona Bertoli Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti International Journal of Molecular Sciences Moringa oleifera proximate analysis antioxidant flavonoids phenolic acids salicylic acid ferulic acid Chad Sahrawi Haiti |
| title | Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti |
| title_full | Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti |
| title_fullStr | Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti |
| title_short | Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti |
| title_sort | nutritional characterization and phenolic profiling of moringa oleifera leaves grown in chad sahrawi refugee camps and haiti |
| topic | Moringa oleifera proximate analysis antioxidant flavonoids phenolic acids salicylic acid ferulic acid Chad Sahrawi Haiti |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/16/8/18923 |
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