Preliminary phytochemical screening of leaf extracts of Moringa oleifera using various solvents

Moringa oleifera, belonging to the family Moringaceae, is a medicinally significant tree that originated in the Indian subcontinent and has now spread widely across tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Valued for its nutritional richness and therapeutic potential, it has long been integrated into traditional healthcare practices. In this study, preliminary phytochemical screening was performed on leaf extracts prepared with solvents of different polarity, namely petroleum ether, chloroform, methyl acetate, ethanol, methanol, and water. The qualitative assays confirmed the occurrence of diverse classes of phytoconstituents such as carbohydrates, alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic compounds, saponins, steroids, and glycosides. These findings reinforce the medicinal importance of M. oleifera and provide a basis for further investigations focused on isolating and characterizing its bioactive metabolites for pharmacological applications.