Nutrient and Antinutrient Contents in Raw and Cooked Young Leaves and Immature Pods Of Moringa oleifera, Lam

Abstract

The nutrient composition and anti-nutrient contents of raw and cooked Moringa leaves and immature pods were analyzed. Cooking caused significant reductions (p ≤ 0.05) in the contents of crude protein, crude fiber, ether extracts, ash, ascorbic acid, and β-carotene in the leaves and pods. Significant reductions (p ≤ 0.05) also were observed in Ca, Mg, Zn, P, Na, Cu, and K, except for Fe in the leaves after cooking. Similar reductions were also observed in Mg, Fe, Cu, P, Na, and K, except in Ca and Zn in the cooked pods. No significant reductions (p ≥ 0.05) were observed in total reducing sugars, phytates, and trypsin inhibitor substances in both leaves and pods after cooking. On the other hand, cooking increased protein digestibility by 20.7% and 7.8% in leaves and pods, respectively. A similar increase also was observed in total carbohydrates after cooking leaves and pods. Overall, this study has established that young leaves and immature pods of Moringa oleifera are a good source of both micro and macronutrients and have low levels of anti-nutrients. Although cooking by boiling in water reduced the nutrients to some extent, considerable amounts are retained and as such servings of young leaves and immature pods, as a vegetable relish, could greatly improve the nutritional status of those at risk of malnutrition.

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance received from SUA-VLIR Project for carrying out the study and Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania and the University of Ghent, Belgium for providing the laboratory facilities for analysis.

KEYWORDS:

• Moringa leaves and pods
• Under-exploited plant
• Antinutritional factors
• Nutritional value
• Cooking

Notes

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance received from SUA-VLIR Project for carrying out the study and Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania and the University of Ghent, Belgium for providing the laboratory facilities for analysis.