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• Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. pterygosperma Gaertn [ Moringaceae ]) is a small tree native to the sub-Himalayan tracts of Northern India. • Seed's characteristics, oil content and fatty acid composition were determinate. • Seeds were collected from three moringa fields, in the arid southwestern of Ecuador. • Eleven fatty acids were identified and quantified in the oil by GC–MS. • Oleic was the most abundant fatty acid (75.52 – 72.38%). The moringa Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. pterygosperma Gaertn. [ Moringaceae ]), is native to the northwest of the Indian subcontinent, and can grow naturally in such dry regions as the Thar Desert, in India and Pakistan. Nowadays, it is growing practically all over the world with tropical and subtropical climates. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of arid land's ecosystem on oil content and fatty acid composition of moringa seeds, in three locations -La Rinco, Ospina and Punta Carnero- of Santa Elena Province, Ecuador. Oil yield percentage of seeds from La Rinco were 12% and 3.5% higher than the percentage of seeds from Ospina and Punta Carnero, respectively. Total saturated myristic, palmitic, stearic, arachidic, behenic and lignoceric fatty acids, in the Ospina, La Rinco, and Carnero Beach oil samples were 21.39, 19.20, and 20.01%, respectively. The moringa oils investigated contain high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), palmitoleic, oleic and gadoleic up to 77.17, 79.27, and 77.83%, in Ospina, La Rinco, and Carnero Beach respectively. Oleic (18:1n-9) was the predominant MUFA, accounting for 72.38, 75.46 and 75.52% of the total fatty acids in the Ospina, La Rinco and Carnero Beach oils, respectively. This study indicates that moringa oil has a potential to be produced in the arid lands of the Santa Elena Province, Ecuador. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Moringa oleifera Lam. seed husk is used for iron and lead removal. • A new filtration model for metal removal is developed. • Batch experiments, FTIR and modeling results suggest a physisorption process. • The Bulk Balance Filtration Model depends on simple hydraulic parameters and constants. It is well known that Moringa oleifera Lam. (MO) seeds, pods and leaves have coagulant-flocculant and adsorptive properties, and it is a worth candidate for water treatment that can partially substitute commonly used adsorbents such as granular activated carbon, sand and zeolite. Lead (Pb) and iron (Fe) adsorption using borosilicate columns packed with MO seed husks for water purification purposes was investigated. A model (Bulk Balance Filtration – BBFM or Bulk Model for short) for contaminant adsorption was derived and applied to iron and lead data. The BBFM parameters found were: c= 1.324 cm2, n = 0.5949 and λ o = 0.1251 cm−1; and c = 2.232 cm2, n = 0.9792 and λ o = 0.1027 cm−1 for iron and lead, respectively. The Bulk Model is useful for scaling-up purposes and correlated better than classic models such as the BDST, Thomas, and the Yoon-Nelson under specific conditions. Results from batch and continuous processes suggest that Fe and Pb removal mechanism with MO husk corresponds to that of a physisorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moringa oleifera Lam. is rich in phytochemical compounds especially glucosinolates (GSs) and isothiocyanates (ITCs), which are active compounds for cancer chemoprevention benefits of Brassicaceae vegetables. In this study, we determined the total contents of GSs and ITCs and their specific profiles in different Moringa tissues including seeds, stems, leaves and roots. Seeds (seeds with shell and seed kernel) showed significantly higher levels of total GSs and ITCs than that of other Moringa tissues. The hydrogen sulfide (H2S) releasing capacity of total ITCs extracted from different Moringa tissues was determined by lead (II) acetate assay in 24-well plates. The H2S releasing capacity of different Moringa tissues were evaluated and compared. Moringa seeds showed the highest H2S releasing capacity, followed by roots, leaves and stems. Our results suggest that Moringa based foods may exhibit health benefits due to its GSs and ITCs contents that are the precursors for H2S, in addition to the recognized action mechanisms of ITCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 14-d short-term oral toxicity study in rats evaluated the safety of moringa isothiocyanate-1 (MIC-1)-enriched hydro-alcoholic moringa seeds extract (MSE). Rats (5 males/5 females per group) were gavaged daily for 14 d with the vehicle control or MSE, at 78 (low), 257 (mid-low), 772 (mid-high), or 2571 (high) mg/kg bw/d, standardized to MIC-1 (30, 100, 300, or 1000 mg/kg bw/d, respectively). Toxicological endpoints included body weight and weight gain, food consumption and feed efficiency, clinical observations, hematology, gross necropsy and histopathology, and relative organ weights. Mortality was only observed in the high dose group animals, both male and female, representing decreases in body weight/weight gain and food consumption/feed efficiency. Irregular respiratory patterns and piloerection were major clinical observations found primarily in the mid-high and high dose group animals. In the high dose group, gastrointestinal distention and stomach discoloration were observed in non-surviving males and females, and degeneration and necrosis of the testicular germinal cells and epididymal cells were also observed in a non-surviving male. Increased liver weights were found in females in the mid-high and high dose groups. Animals in the low and mid-low groups did not exhibit adverse effects of MSE (100 mg/kg bw/d MIC-1). A no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of the standardized MSE was determined as 257 mg/kg bw/d providing 100 mg/kg bw/d MIC-1.