Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) was evaluated for phytochemicals and physico-chemical parameters.The physico-chemical characteristics(Table1) showed the acidic character of M.oleifera extracts (pH 5.19-6.77) but no variations were found in temperature values. The infusion was the best extraction method with the highest yield values (4.40 to 9.90%).These data could serve for technological processing of the plant. The phytochemical screening of Moringa oleifera extracts was carried out in various solvents and revealed the presence of alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, tannins, saponins, flavonoids and steroids. The flour extracts revealed the presence in high concentration of most of the screened phytochemicals, whereas they were less present in the bark. Alkaloids were present in all the tested plant extracts however saponins were less present in most of these solvent extracts especially in dichloromethane. Ethanolic extracts of M.oleifera showed a greater presence of phytochemicals than the other extracts. Quantitative analysis revealed that M.oleifera contained appreciable amounts of phytochemicals ranging from 1.10±0.10 to 18.70±0.50%. Flavonoids and saponins were the major compounds recorded in this study (18.70±0.50% &13.65±4.56% in the seeds); this makes the seeds the richest part of M.leifera. However, alkaloids were recorded in high amounts in all the plant parts ( 5.60±0.60 to13.83±1.03%). Phenols and anthocyanins were the minor compounds (ranging from 1.10±0.10 to 2.65±1.15%).The results of quantitative analysis showed that M.oleifera contained bioactive compounds in varying quantities. This makes the plant useful in treating, or to prevent various ailments and determines its therapeutic potential and medicinal value.
