A Comparative Analysis of Flavonoid and Phenolic concentration from Diverse Varieties of Moringa oleifera Leaves Utilizing Methanol and Ethanol
Authors: M. M Oluewu, , L. T Walker, , S. Ogutu, , C. O Koko, 
Published: September 2024

Having its leaves abundant in nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, the moringa plant is highly regarded because of its nutritious and industrial usefulness. Despite its widespread utilisation, little is understood concerning the way various Moringa oleifera cultivars vary with regard to their phenolic and flavonoid concentration, particularly when extracting the compound utilising various solvents. To attempt to throw insight into the ways that various solvent types and environment variables affects the phytochemical compounds of Moringa oleifera leaves, this research investigation compared the efficacy of ethanol and methanol in removing phenolics as well as flavonoids from the leaves. The information gathered through this research could assist to identify the most appropriate methods for extraction that will maximize the medical and nutritional advantages associated with Moringa oleifera. New leaves of five different types of Moringa oleifera had been bought from the Winfred Thomas Agricultural Research Station in Alabama A&M University. Upon being pulverised and dried, the resulting leaves had been preserved at room temperature. The leaves were immersed in a mixture of 70% ethanol as the solvent and 80% methanol all through the extraction method. The extracted samples had been then stirred, filtered, and freeze-dried. Following that, High-performance liquid chromatography was the technique employed to know the overall concentration of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. Descriptive and statistical analysis were performed using box plots, scatter plots, bar plots, and t-tests to evaluate the extent or degree to which both solvents removed phenolic and flavonoid compounds and estimated the total quantity of phenolic and flavonoids in the different cultivars. The findings from the descriptive study revealed the Nigerian variety had an increased phenolic content when extracted using methanol—roughly 822.3 µg/ml—than when removed using ethanol (80.6 µg/ml). The Indian type, on the contrary, had phenolic concentrations of 814.3 µg/ml as compared with 647.3 µg/ml in ethanol, revealing an important distinction in preference for methanol. The Nigerian cultivar possessed an increased extraction effectiveness of 1253.12 µg/ml using ethanol as opposed to methanol (1083.52 µg/ml) for flavonoids. The t-test results proved that though the difference was not statistically significant (t(28) = 0.608, p = 0.382), the average phenolic content obtained with methanol (M = 798.60, SD = 23.567) was slightly more than that obtained via ethanol (M = 790.60, SD = 45.183). In a similar vein extraction with methanol showed a smaller average flavonoid concentration (M = 1068.40, SD = 128.641) compared to the extraction with ethanol (M = 1129.40, SD = 166.018); nonetheless, this difference was not statistically significant (t(28) = 1.125, p = 0.334). The scatter diagram revealed a significant linear connection with both phenolic and flavonoid content, having a significant positive correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.95). Although some modifications depending on the variety, the research reveals that methanol and ethanol serve as suitable solvents for phenolic and flavonoid compound extraction from Moringa oleifera leaves. The usefulness of these developments in enhancing methods of extraction in manufacturing industries needs to be explored deeper.