A comprehensive analysis of minerals in Moringa oleifera leaves, seeds, stem bark, and ash using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES)

Minerals are crucial for cell and membrane functions in the body. The imbalance of these causes micronutrient deficient disorders. The current study uniquely focuses on the Moringa oleifera plant and its ash mineral composition. Here, we have meticulously selected various parts of this plant, including leaf, seed, and stem bark, which are commonly employed in multiple traditional systems of medicine. We conducted physicochemical analysis and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) profiling with marker and finally determined mineral composition using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). A total of 13 elements, namely Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, and B, were examined. Our findings reveal that different parts of the moringa plant contain varying amounts of minerals. For instance, the leaves of the plant have higher levels of sodium (Na-149.8 mg/100 g), calcium (Ca-676 mg/100 g), manganese (Mn-4.6 mg/100 g), and potassium (K-1.0 g/100 g) compared to other parts. On the other hand, the stem bark of the plant is rich in potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe), while the seeds contain more amount of copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn). These results offer valuable insights into the potential medicinal properties of Moringa oleifera, which will be discussed in detail in the current manuscript.