Effects of Cold Pressed Moringa Seed Oil on Nutrition and Health

Some physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid composition of Moringa seed oil was analyzed. The seed oil was obtained by cold press. Moringa seed contains 4.92% moisture, 42.15% fat, 35.54% protein, 2.98% ash, 8.44% dietary fiber and 14.41% carbohydrate in the dry matter. Oleic acid was the main fatty acid (74.29%) and it was followed by behenic acid (6.09%), palmitic acid (5.83%), stearic acid (4.67%), arachidic acid (3.32%) and gadoleic acid (2.37%), respectively. Moringa oil had a total saturated fatty acid (SFA) content of about 21.39% and a total unsaturated fatty acid (TUFA) content of about 78.58%. Total antioxidant and total phenolic substance amounts were 22.28 mM Trolox/ml and 455.33 mg gallic acid/g, respectively. The moringa seed has very high fat and protein contents and the fatty acid composition indicates that the seed oil of Moringa oleifera is included in high-oleic oils category, and has a high MUFA/SFA ratio. Keywords: Moringa oleifera; oil; free fatty acid; oleic acid; behenic acid DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/6-01-03