Phytochemical profiling, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities of Moringa oleifera Lam.: an ethnopharmacological and experimental study

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. is a medicinal plant used in traditional medicine to cure various ailments. This study aimed to evaluate the ethnopharmacological study, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. An ethnopharmacological survey was conducted to gather detailed information regarding the traditional usage (55.4%) of different plant parts, diseases treated, and routes of administration. In addition to traditional knowledge documentation, phytochemical analyses of a dried extract (DE) of M. oleifera leaves were performed. Quantification of secondary metabolites revealed high levels of polyphenols, flavonoids and condensed tannins with a values of 255.79 ± 6.82 µg gallic acid equivalent, 4.64 ± 0.52 µg quercetin equivalent, and 41.47 ± 1.41 µg catechin equivalent dry extract, respectively. In antioxidant activity using the DPPH radical scavenging assay, the results demonstrated a potent free radical inhibition with an IC₅₀ of 0.15 ± 0.01 mg/mL. In vitro assays measuring the inhibition of protein denaturation revealed dosedependent anti-inflammatory activity of the extract, achieving 82.57 ± 0.00% inhibition at 8 mg/mL. In vivo study using xylene-induced ear edema in mice showed a significant inhibition of inflammation at a dose of 2 mg/mL, with inhibition percentages reaching 87.65%. Finally, the findings of the acute toxicity experiment demonstrated that extract is safe and that even at dosages as high as 2 g/kg DW. These findings provide strong scientific support for the traditional uses of Moringa oleifera and highlight its promising potential as a source of natural antioxidants and antiinflammatory agents. Further investigation is warranted to isolate and characterize the specific active compounds responsible for these effects.