ASSESS THE PHENOLIC CONTENT AND BIOACTIVITY OF MORINGA LEAF EXTRACTS

The utilization of new natural antioxidants and antimicrobials in meals, particularly beef and chicken, is urgently needed because some synthetic antioxidants and antimicrobials have harmful, mutagenic, and carcinogenic consequences. In this study, the antioxidant activity of moringa leaf ethanol extracts at 50%, 70%, 90%, and 100% was investigated. Based on its antioxidant activity, the 70% ethanol extract was chosen to enhance the chemical, physical, and microbiological characteristics and prolong the shelf life of beef meat. According to their dry weight, moringa leaves have the following chemical composition: 6.9% moisture, 24.1% crude protein, 7.19% crude fat, 15.23% total ash, 6.29% fiber and 40.32% carbohydrates. The results indicated that the highest DPPH percentage (91.59%) was found in 70% ethanolic extract which was marginally higher than that of the 100% ethanolic extract (91.47%). Both antioxidant activities were comparable to those of ascorbic acid. Moringa leaf ethanol extract (MO 1%) produced the highest total phenol (64.497 ± 0.465 mg GAE/g extract or 6.450 ± 0.465 g GAE/100 g extract) followed by 0.5% moringa extract (MO 0.5%, 42.027 ± 0.826 mg GAE/g). Moringa leaves ethanol extract (MO 1%) yielded the highest amount of flavonoids (30.86 ± 0.248 mg QE/g extract), followed by MO 0.5%, (24.067 ± 0.179 mg QE/g). The HPLC analysis of moringa leaf extract showed the existence of 20 phenolic compounds that fall between <LOQ and 28.12%. By comparing the retention duration of authentic standards, the four recognized components of chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, naringenin, and vanillin—have been determined to be the most abundant chemicals in moringa extracts, (with variations in their amount). The lower percentages of other chemicals ranged from 2.81% to less than 0.2%. Five out of the twenty compounds namely Coumaric acid, Cinnamic acid, Daidzein, Catechin and Hesperetin exhibited <LOQ with 146, 148, 254, 290 and 302 MW (molecular weight). Additionally, leaves are abundant in flavonoids, which include rutin, kaempferol, and quercetin. These compounds are well-known for their anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-cancer, and anti-spasmodic effects.