Influence of Location on the Phytochemical, Nutritional and Mineral Composition of the Leaves of Moringa oleifera (LAM) Grown in Ekiti State
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Abstract
Moringa oleifera is a versatile plant commonly used as medicine and as vegetable for meeting the nutritional needs of many communities in Nigeria and all over the world. This study was carried out to determine the effects of location on the phytochemical, nutritional and mineral composition of M. oleifera leaves in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Seeds of Moringa were planted in four locations made up of two towns each from the tropical rain forest (Efon-Alaaye and Ikere-Ekiti) and the derived Savannah (Omuo-Ekiti and Otun-Ekiti) areas of the State. Leaf samples were harvested after 90 days and analyzed for their phytochemical, proximate and mineral composition, using standard methods. The results showed the presence of some major phytochemicals, proximate and Mineral elements in different proportion across locations. The leaves of M. oleifera grown in Ikere Ekiti consistently produced the highest quantities of alkaloids (0.18 mg/g), saponins (0.16 mg/g), phenols (38.70 mgGAE/g) and tannins (14.91 mgTAE/g). Interestingly, leaves of the plant harvested from Efon Alaaye also had high quantity of these phytochemicals. Significantly highest proximate composition in the leaves was found to be10.33 % Ashin Efon-Alaaye, 30.26% protein in Ikere Ekiti, and 11.05% Crude fiber in Omuo Ekiti. However, no significant differences (p≤0.05) was recorded in Carbohydrate and Fat contents irrespective of location. Moreover, leaves harvested from Ikere Ekiti and Efon Alaaye had the highest proximate content. Appreciable quantity of Na and Mg were also discovered in the leaves from OmuoEkiti.The best combination of phytochemicals, proximate and minerals were found in the plant samples grown in Ikere Ekiti and Efon Alaaye, while the least was in samples from Otun Ekiti. Farmers are to therefore, carefully consider location and soil factors in the cultivation of M. oleifera.