Crop Improvement of Moringa oleifera L. through Genotype Screening for the Development of Clonal Propagation Techniques of High-Yielding Clones in Malaysia.

Simple Summary: Moringa oleifera L. is a multipurpose tree species widely used for its high nutritional value. It has also been used for centuries due to its high medicinal value and antifungal, antiviral, antidepressant, and anti-inflammatory properties, and has wider applications in the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. Due to greater demand in the local and international market, the exploitation of high-yielding moringa varieties and their cultivation techniques is needed. However, the breeding approaches adopted in Malaysia and achievements made for the exploitation of this crop were rather slow due to the unavailability of elite planting material and germplasm collection. Germplasm is a gene pool conserved in a wide array of crop species, landraces, and wild populations by identifying elite accessions with specific desirable genetic traits to increase yield and productivity in agricultural and horticultural crop species. Moringa germplasm collected across the country showed wider genetic variations for morphological traits and chemical content. Thus, moringa germplasm has been collected and conserved for the development of improved varieties with high-yielding potential for commercial cultivation in Malaysia. Hence, it is imperative to understand the genetic potential of each moringa genotype for the development of superior varieties through continuous breeding programs. Improvements in selection criteria, collection, and clonal propagation methods of moringa genotypes can result in the development of elite planting material with improved pharmacological and industrial properties and ensure the production of a high-quality end product. Moringa oleifera L. is a valuable multipurpose tree species widely planted for centuries due to its high medicinal value and antifungal, antiviral, antidepressant, and anti-inflammatory properties in the food industry. However, its cultivation is hindered by production constraints such as the unavailability of planting material and the inadequate number of high-yielding clones. Thus, a study was initiated to select high-yielding clones in terms of growth and chemical content for the mass propagation of superior moringa trees. Screening on high-yielding clones with high astragalin content was conducted through the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of moringa leaf extract. Selected genotypes were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory potential through in vitro bioactivity assays of leaf methanol extract. The effects of the rooting hormone, rooting substrates, and size of the cutting on the rooting response of branch cuttings of moringa were investigated. Results found that samples collected from different ecological zones of Peninsular Malaysia show significant variation in terms of astragalin content. The extracts were observed to show considerable variation in biological activity against the pro-inflammatory enzymes. The size of the cuttings had significant effects on the rooting of the cuttings as longer cuttings with bigger diameters rooted better than shorter cuttings with smaller diameters. Several genotypes of M. oleifera with superior phenotypic characteristics and bioactive compounds have been identified. Factors affecting the rooting efficiency and optimal conditions of rooting are suggested, which provides valuable information for the propagation of the superior planting material of moringa. This effort will ensure the sustainable production and supply of good quality raw materials for the production of quality end-products for the food and pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]