EVALUATION OF PROXIMATE PRINCIPLES OF DRIED LEAF POWDER OF MORINGA OLEIFERA LAM. FROM AJMER CITY, RAJASTHAN

Moringa oleifera Lam.is a plant known for its nutrient content and medicinal values. The Miracle Plant, that is specially cultivated world over, has multifarious utility. The pharmaceutical and processed food industries are specially benefited by the usage of different elements of Moringa oleifera Lam, making significant impact in improving the nutraceutical, dietary and medicinal values of the supplements that are either derived or processed from leaves of the plant. When the composition of proximate principles of the dried M. oleifera Lam. leaves, obtained from four different areas of Ajmer, Rajasthan was compared, it gave a clear insight to the objective of the study initiated, showing that the leaves contained 7.51±0.82 gm of moisture (ranged from 6.37±0.01 to 8.22±0.01 gm) , 28.38±0.58 gm of protein (varied between 27.65±0.01 - 28.95±0.03) , 4.52±0.13 gm of fat (ranged from 4.36±0.00to 4.68±0.01gm ) , crude fibre 9.54±0.25 gm (ranged from 9.26±0.02to 9.83±0.03 gm ), 10.62±0.78 gm of ash (ranged from 9.87±0.00 to11.83±0.01gm), 48.77±1.29 gm of carbohydrate (ranged 46.89±0.78 to 49.84±0.13gm) and 351.39±4.65 kcal energy ( ranged from 345.04±0.80 to 357.18±0.71 kcal)respectively. The study also threw a light to the fact which reveals that an appreciable amount of nutrients is existing in dried M. oleifera Lam leaves, supplementing for proteins and fibres, showcasing the nutritional importance of the natural product, enhancing the possibilities of betterment of health care system and general life style of each individual in the country, together with cost effectiveness, in particular. In an overview, it is evident in the analysis, that the therapeutic composition of the leaves of M. oleifera is an undeniably worth the efforts put in assessing the same.