Nutritional profiling of Moringa oleifera leaves and seeds from three selected districts in Tanzania

The leaves and seeds of Moringa oleifera are known to have immense nutritional value.This study was carried out to evaluate the nutrient composition and properties of M. oleifera leaves and seeds in Tanzania.Seed and leaf samples were collected from the Simanjiro, Kilolo, and Mpwapwa districts in Kilimanjaro, Iringa, and Dodoma regions respectively.A cross-sectional research design was used in this study to collect seeds and leaves samples.Analysis of Variance indicated a significant difference (p<0.05) in the concentration of macronutrients in the leaves and seeds of M. oleifera.The amount of water, crude fibers, and ash concentrations was higher in the leaves than in the seeds.However, the concentration of proteins and lipids was higher in seeds compared to the leaves.Significant differences were observed in the water content, crude fiber in leaves and seeds in the three regions (p<0.05).There was no significant difference in protein and lipid contents in seeds from the three studied regions (p>0.05).A macronutrient composition indicated a high concentration of Zn, Fe, Ca, P, and Bk in leaves compared to the seeds from all three regions.It was noted that K and P had higher concentrations in the seeds than in the leaves.Moreover, the leaves and seeds collected from Iringa region contained higher concentrations of macronutrients compared to those from Dodoma and Kilimanjaro regions.These findings indicate that M. oleifera leaves and seeds are rich in vital amounts of nutritional components, hence, presents a promising balance of food ingredients for human and animal diets.Cognizant of this, M. oleifera leaves and seeds can be used to combat malnutrition, especially among infants and nursing mothers.For further scale-ups, the alteration of macronutrients could play a key role in the yield and quality of M. oleifera in agricultural systems.