GC-MS Based Metabolite Profiling and Phytochemical Screening of Different Solvent Extracts of Moringa oleifera Seeds

Abstract

The present study aimed at screening the different crude extracts of Moringa   oleifera seeds for their bioactive constituents and exploring the metabolites present using GC-MS (Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry). The phytochemical screening of the different crude extracts revealed the presence of tannins, flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, steroids, terpenoids and alkaloids in various quantities. In the metabolite profiling of the seeds, the presence of fatty acid was found to predominate in the n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts. GC-MS analysis confirmed the occurrence of forty-one (41) compounds in n-hexane extract, where major compounds include cis-vaccenic acid (9.2 %), cis-13-octadecenoic acid (7.1 %) and n- hexadecanoic acid (4.1 %). Thirty-nine (39) compounds were detected in the GC-MS profile of ethyl acetate extract. The major compounds identified were cis-vaccenic acid (7.5 %), 9-octadecenoic acid (7.2 %) and palmitoleic acid (6.0 %), while methanol extract profile revealed the presence of 39 detectable compounds, including cis-13-octadecenoic acid (14.7 %), ethyl oleate (7.3 %), and cis- vaccenic acid (6.3 %) as the major components present in M. oleifera seeds. In conclusion, extraction solvents influenced the recovery of phyto-constituents; and the therapeutically valued metabolites obtained will serve as a guide on further drug discovery process.