GC-MS Fingerprinting of Methanolic Extract of Moringa oleifera Stem, Leaf and Root

Moringa oleifera is a tropical tree species found in both the tropics and sub-tropics. It is famous for its medicinal and nutritional qualities. The leaf is mostly used in different modes. The research aims at comparing the compounds present in the extract of the stem, leaf and root, as well as the residue and unextracted samples using GC-MS. The leaf, stem and root of the tree were collected, dried, ground and extracted with 70% methanol. The extracts, residue and unextracted samples were analysed using GC-MS. Library matches of 80% quality and above were considered. Fifteen (15) compounds were identified in both the leaf and the stem extracts each while seventeen (17) compounds were identified in the root extract with ten (10) of the compounds common to the three samples at different concentrations. Similarly, nine (9) compounds each were found to be common to the extract, residue and unextracted sample for all the three plant parts analysed. Antimicrobial compounds like cyclotrisiloxane, hexamethyl and cyclotetrasiloxane, octamethyl were identified in all the samples and eicosane identified in both the leaf and stem extract. Phytol and neophytadiene with antioxidant anti-inflammatory activities were found in the leaf extract only. The solvent tried to concentrate some compounds in the extract especially the stem sample. However, many compounds were not successfully extracted especially from root. These results will give more insight to the naturopath or alternative medicine users who decide between using different solvents or whole herb. Also, unidentified peaks because of no quality/ any library matches need more work for identification.