Moringa oleifera supplemented cereal granules: physical quality, nutritional composition, and antioxidant activity

Moringa oleifera leaf powder has been incorporated into functional food products to enhance the nutritional value and to address stunting problems. This study aimed to evaluate the physical quality, nutritional content and antioxidant activity of cereal granules supplemented with M. oleifera leaf powder (5% MOLP) produced at different drying temperatures of 50℃ (F1), 55℃ (F2), 60℃ (F3), and 65℃ (F4). The evaluation of physical quality included hedonic organoleptic test, specific gravity, pH, and moisture content. Concurrently, the nutritional composition involved proximate analysis (water, ash, crude fiber, carbohydrate, fat, and protein content), total flavonoid, total phenolics, total alkaloids and fatty acids compositions. Antioxidant activity was assessed by using the DPPH method. Physical characteristics identified F1 as the best formula based on the highest average score value of the hedonic organoleptic test, specific gravity, and moisture content. Further proximate analysis revealed that F1 contained 83.08% carbohydrate, 10.32% protein, 3.26% fat, 0.98% crude fiber, 2.67% water, and 0.67% ash contents. Meanwhile, the total alkaloid, total phenolic, and total flavonoid contents were found to be 334.08 µg/g, 4.05%, and 2.60%, respectively. Methyl laurate, methyl myristate, and methyl palmitoleate were found to be abundant with concentrations of 37.40%, 16.87% and 14.72%, respectively. The antioxidant activity exhibited moderate efficacy, with an IC50 value of 150.51 µg/mL. These results indicated that F1 possessed potential for advancement as a functional food ingredient to mitigate stunting.