The leaves of Moringa have been reported to have different properties that include Anti-oxidant properties, Anti-tumor properties, Anti-clastogenic properties and Anti-cancer properties.
Anti-oxidant properties
Naturally occurring antioxidant particularly polyphenols, are the main plant compound that are able to decrease oxidative damage in tissues by indirect enhancement of a cell or by free radical scavenging (Du, 2010). The leaves of Moringa oleifera tree have been reported to demonstrate antioxidant activity dues to its high amount of polyphenols (Sreelatha et al., 2009). A comparative study indicated that mature Moringa oleifera leaves extract exhibited better values of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants.
According to Sreetatha et al., (2009), quantitative analysis of the extract revealed the presence s of phenolics, flavanoids and trace amount of alkaloid in both mature and tender leaves. It was stated that the higher the total polyphenols, the higher the antioxidant activity, in which it is most likely to be due to the combined action of several existing substances as well as high hydrogen donating ability.
Anti-clastogenic properties
In recent years, there has been a new interest in the clastogenicity and anti-clastogenicty of Moringa oleifera in establishing its health benefits, the Moringa oleifera demonstrated free radical scavenging properties that directly indicate anti-clastogenic effect which was found to be due to its rich vitamin C content (Promkum et al., 2010).
References
Du, D. (2010). plant as a source of natural antioxidants page 153.
Promkum C., Kupradinun P., Tuntipopipat S., Butryee C. (2010). Nutritive evaluation and effect of Moringa oleifera pod on clastogenic potential in the mouse. Asian pacific J cancer prev, 11, 627-32. Prev, 11, 627-32.
Sreelatha, S.P.R. padma and M., umadevi (2009). Protective effects of coriandrum sativum extracs on carbon tetrachloride – induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Food chem. Toxical., 47; 702-708.
