Identificação de compostos orgânicos presentes nos extratos etanólico e hexânico das folhas da Moringa oleifera LAM

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. is a plant popularly known by several names such as: white lily, benzolive, saijha, okra, among others. It is widely used in folk medicine to treat various diseases, such as those related to excess free radicals in the body, because all parts of this plant have secondary metabolites such as: flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, saponins, phenolic compounds , among others, with several biological activities. The presence and quantity of these metabolites are conditioned to biotic and abiotic factors that can alter the properties that the plant has in relation to the health problems to which it is applied. The search for herbal medicines that can treat health problems has been a challenge for researchers around the world. The present work aimed to identify the organic compounds present in the M. oleifera leaves. This identification was carried out by chromatographic analyzes CG-EM and HPLC. As a result, it was found that M. oleifera grown in Teresina-PI presented 20 compounds in the ethanolic extract of the leaves of this plant and the hexanic extract, 23 compounds. Only 09 compounds were common to both extracts, of the other phytochemicals, 03 are mentioned in other references about moringa, 07 have been identified in plants of other species, 16 have not yet been mentioned by any other reference as present in plants and 11 have activity defined biological nature. The result of HPLC revealed, in the ethanolic extract of the leaves, the secondary metabolites: catechin, rutin, myricetin, chlorogenic acid and coumarin. All with anti-cancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The hexane extract, at CLAE, did not reveal phytochemical compounds among the compared standards. It was concluded that the changes in the phytochemical composition of the leaves of M. oleifera grown in Teresina-PI, may be related to environmental and biological factors. Therefore, the research demonstrates the need for further study in search of other secondary metabolites.