Simultaneous Determination of Crypto-Chlorogenic Acid, Isoquercetin, and Astragalin Contents in Moringa oleifera Leaf Extracts by TLC-Densitometric Method

Plant-mediated synthesis of Mn3O4nanoparticles: challenges and applications

This review focuses on the green synthesis methods, challenges, and applications of manganese oxide (Mn3O4) nanoparticles investigated in the past five years. Mn3O4nanoparticles offer some unique properties that are attributed in part to the presence of mixed oxidation states of manganese (i.e. +2 and +3) in the particle, which can be utilized in a wide range of redox-sensitive applications, such as in developing supercapacitive energy storage materials. In addition, the green synthesis of Mn3O4nanoparticles through plant extracts has potential uses in sustainable nanotechnology. Various plant extract-mediated synthesis techniques for Mn3O4nanoparticles have been investigated and presented. By comparing the size and structure of the synthesized Mn3O4nanoparticles, we have observed a consistent pattern of obtaining spherical particles with a size ranging from 16 to 50 nm. The morphology of the generated Mn3O4nanoparticles can be influenced by the annealing temperature and the composition of the plant extract used during the nanoparticle synthesis. Additionally, numerous applications for the greenly produced Mn3O4nanoparticles have been demonstrated. Mn3O4nanoparticles derived from plant extracts have been found to possess antimicrobial properties, supercapacitive and electrochemical capabilities, and excellent pollutant degradation efficiency. However, the magnetic properties of these nanoparticles synthesized by plant extracts are yet to be explored for potential biomedical applications. Finally, challenges to existing synthetic methods and future perspectives on the potential applications of these green synthesized Mn3O4nanoparticles are highlighted.

Optimization of Pressurized Liquid Extraction (PLE) Parameters for Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Moringa oleifera Leaves and Bioactivity Assessment

Moringa oleifera leaves are rich sources of bioactive compounds with potential health benefits, including antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) stands out as a promising technique for effectively extracting valuable compounds from natural sources. In this study, we aimed to optimize PLE parameters, such as temperature, extraction duration, and pressure, to maximize bioactive compound (polyphenols, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid) yield from M. oleifera leaves and evaluate their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. According to the outcomes of this research, the maximum achieved total polyphenol content was 24.10 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g of dry weight (dw), and the total flavonoid content was increased up to 19.89 mg rutin equivalents (RtE)/g dw. Moreover, after HPLC-DAD analysis, neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids, catechin and epicatechin, rutin, and narirutin were identified and quantified. As far as the optimum ascorbic acid content is concerned, it was found to be 4.77 mg/g dw. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by three different methods: ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), the DPPH method, and the anti-hydrogen peroxide activity (AHPA) method, resulting in 124.29 μmol ascorbic acid equivalent (AAE)/g dw, 131.28 μmol AAE/g dw, and 229.38 μmol AAE/g dw values, respectively. Lastly, the albumin denaturation inhibition was found to be 37.54%. These findings underscore the potential of PLE as an efficient extraction method for preparing extracts from M. oleifera leaves with the maximum content of bioactive compounds.

Evaluating anti-obesity potential, active components, and antioxidant mechanisms of Moringa peregrina seeds extract on high-fat diet-induced obesity

There are no medical drugs that provide an acceptable weight loss with minimal adverse effects. This study evaluated the Moringa peregrina (MP) seed extract's anti-obesity effect. Twenty-four (6/each group) male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into group Ι (control), group ΙΙ (high-fat diet [HFD]), group ΙΙΙ (HFD+ MP [250 mg/kg b.wt]), and group ΙV (HFD+ MP [500 mg/kg b.wt]). MP administration significantly ameliorated body weight gains and HFD induced elevation in cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and reduced HDL. Moreover, MP seed oil showed high free radical-scavenging activity, delayed β-carotene bleaching and inhibited lipoprotein and pancreatic lipase enzymes. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed three major active components: crypto-chlorogenic acid, isoquercetin, and astragalin. Both quantitative Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and western blotting revealed that MP seeds oil significantly decreased the expression of lipogenesis-associated genes such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors gamma (PPARγ) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) and significantly elevated the expression of lipolysis-associated genes (acetyl-CoA carboxylase1, ACCl). The oil also enhanced phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase alpha (AMPK-α) and suppressed CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β (C/EBPβ). In conclusion, administration of M. peregrina seeds oil has anti-obesity potential in HFD-induced obesity in rats. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: M. peregrina seeds oil had a potential anti-obesity activity that may be attributed to different mechanisms. These included decreasing body weight, and body mass index and improving lipid levels by decreasing total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-C, and increasing HDL-C. Also, M. peregrina seeds oil regulated adipogenesis-associated genes, such as downregulating the expression of (PPARγ, C/EBPα, and FAS) and improving and upregulating the expression and phosphorylation of AMPKα and ACCl. Despite that M. peregrina extract has reported clear anti-obesity potential through animal and laboratory studies, the available evidence-based on human clinical trials are very limited. Therefore, further studies are needed that could focus on clinical trials investigating anti-obesity potential different mechanisms of M. peregrina extract in humans.

NMR-Based Metabolomic Analyses to Identify the Effect of Harvesting Frequencies on the Leaf Metabolite Profile of a Moringa oleifera Cultivar Grown in an Open Hydroponic System

Moringa oleifera Lam. is one of the world’s most useful medicinal plants. Different parts of the M. oleifera tree contain a rich profile of important minerals, proteins, vitamins, and various important bioactive compounds. However, there are differences in the phytochemical composition of the medicinal plant’s raw materials due to seasonal variation, cultivation practices, and post-harvest processing. The main objective of this study was therefore to determine the effect of harvesting frequencies on selected bioactive compounds of a M. oleifera cultivar (PKM1) grown in a hydroponic system under a shade net structure. Three harvesting frequency treatments were applied in the study, with the plants harvested at every 30 days (high frequency), 60 days (intermediate frequency), and 90 days (low frequency) respectively. ¹H-NMR was used for data acquisition, and multivariate data analysis by means of principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square discriminatory analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal partial least square discriminatory analysis (OPLS-DA) were applied to determine the changes in the leaf metabolite profile, and also to identify the spectral features contributing to the separation of samples. Targeted metabolite analysis was used to match the NMR peaks of the compounds with the NMR chemical shifts of the contribution plot. The contribution plot showed that the increase in concentration of some compounds in aliphatic, sugar and aromatic regions contributed to the separation of the samples. The results revealed that intermediate and low harvesting frequencies resulted in a change in the leaf metabolite profile. Compounds such as chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, vanillic acid, wogonin, esculetin, niazirin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) showed an increase under intermediate and low harvesting frequencies. These results provide insight into the effect of harvesting frequencies on the metabolite profile and associated medicinal activity of M. oleifera.

Health Benefits of Uses and Applications of Moringa oleifera in Bakery Products

Moringa oleifera belongs to the Moringaceae family and is the best known of the native Moringa oleifera genus. For centuries, it has been used as a system of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine and has a wide range of nutritional and bioactive compounds, including proteins, essential amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, fibre, vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, phytosterols and others. These characteristics allow it to have pharmacological properties, including anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, cardioprotective, antimicrobial and hepatoprotective properties. The entire Moringa oleifera plant is edible, including its flowers, however, it is not entirely safe, because of compounds that have been found mainly in the root and bark, so the leaf was identified as the safest. Moringa oleifera is recognised as an excellent source of phytochemicals, with potential applications in functional and medicinal food preparations due to its nutritional and medicinal properties; many authors have experimented with incorporating it mainly in biscuits, cakes, brownies, meats, juices and sandwiches. The results are fascinating, as the products increase their nutritional value; however, the concentrations cannot be high, as this affects the organoleptic characteristics of the supplemented products. The aim of this study is to review the application of Moringa oleifera in bakery products, which will allow the creation of new products that improve their nutritional and functional value.

Impact of conventional/non-conventional extraction methods on the untargeted phenolic profile of Moringa oleifera leaves

The impact of different extraction methods, namely maceration, homogenizer-assisted extraction, rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction, microwave-assisted extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction, on polyphenols of Moringa oleifera leaves was studied. The phenolic composition of alcoholic (methanol 100%) and hydroalcoholic (methanol/water 50:50, v/v) extracts was compared by using an untargeted metabolomics-based profiling approach followed by multivariate statistics. With this aim, ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to profile phenolic compounds under the different extraction conditions. Besides, the in vitro antioxidant activities of Moringa leaves were also investigated as ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). The metabolomic approach allowed to putatively annotate 262 phenolic compounds. In particular, glycosidic forms of quercetin (i.e., quercetin 3-O-galactoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside, and quercetin 4'-O-glucoside) were the most represented compounds among flavonoids. Furthermore, protocatechuic acid was found to be the most abundant hydroxybenzaldheyde derivative, while the isomeric forms of hydroxybenzoic acid characterized the phenolic acids class. Overall, the extractions in methanol 100% were found to be the most effective for phenolic compounds recovering, when compared with those in methanol/water (50:50, v/v). Homogenizer-assisted extraction of M. oleifera leaves using 100% methanol allowed extracting the highest amounts of polyphenols (35.19 mg/g) and produced the highest oxygen radical absorbance capacity (536.27 μmol Trolox Equivalents/g). The supervised orthogonal projection to latent structures discriminant analysis identified phenolic acids as the phenolic class mostly affected by the different extraction technologies. These findings demonstrate that each extraction method promoted the recovery of specific phenolic subclasses with different efficiencies.

Isoquercetin ameliorates myocardial infarction through anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis factor and regulating TLR4-NF-κB signal pathway

The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective mechanisms and identify the effects of isoquercetin on myocardial infarction in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Isoquercetin ameliorated myocardial infarct size, creatine kinase (CK), CK‑MB and lactic dehydrogenase activity and inhibited inflammation, oxidative stress and heart cell apoptosis in a rat with AMI. Isoquercetin increased endothelial nitric oxide synthase, reduced inducible nitric oxide synthase levels and suppressed the Toll-like receptor 4‑nuclear factor (TLR4‑NF)‑κB signaling pathway in a rat with AMI. Overall, isoquercetin ameliorated AMI through anti‑inflammatory and anti‑apoptotic factors, and regulation of the TLR4‑NF‑κB signaling pathway. Isoquercetin may therefore potentially exert a protective effect against AMI or other heart diseases.

Voltammetric determination of chlorogenic acid in pharmaceutical products using poly(aminosulfonic acid) modified glassy carbon electrode

In this work, a poly(aminosulfonic acid) modified glassy carbon electrode was fabricated and the electrochemical behavior of chlorogenic acid (CGA) was studied by cyclic voltammetry. Compared with a bare glassy carbon electrode, the modified electrode exhibits excellent catalytic effect on the electrochemical redox of CGA. Utilizing this catalytic effect, a sensitive and selective electrochemical method for the determination of CGA was developed. The analytical parameters were optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the oxidation peak current is linearly proportional to the concentration of CGA in the range from 4.00 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.20 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L and the detection limit is 4.00 × 10⁻⁸ mol/L. Further, the performance of the proposed method has been validated in terms of linearity (r = 0.9995), recovery (96.3–102.8%), reproducibility (RSD < 4.0%, n = 6) and robustness. The developed method has been successfully applied for the determination of CGA in a variety of pharmaceutical products.