Nutritive Evaluation and Effect of Moringa oleifera pod on Clastogenic Potential in the Mouse

Moringa oleifera Lam (horseradish tree; tender pod or fruits) has been consumed as a vegetable and utilizedas a major ingredient of healthy Thai cuisine. Previous studies have shown that M. oleifera pod extracts act asbifunctional inducers along with displaying antioxidant properties and also inhibiting skin papillomagenesisin mice. This study was aimed to determine the nutritive value, and clastogenic and anticlastogenic potentialsof M. oleifera pod. The nutritive value was determined according to AOAC methods. The clastogenic andanticlastogenic potentials were determined using the in vivo erythrocyte micronucleus assay in the mouse. Eightymale mice were fed semi-purified diets containing 1.5%, 3.0% and 6.0% of ground freeze-dried boiled M. oleiferapod (bMO) for 2 weeks prior to administration of both direct-acting (mitomycin C, MMC) and indirect-acting(7, 12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, DMBA), clastogens. Blood samples were collected at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h,dropped on acridine orange-coated slides, and then counted for reticulocytes both with and without micronucleiby fluorescence microscopy. The nutritive value of 100 g bMO consisted of: moisture content, 8.2 g; protein,19.2 g; fat, 3.9 g; carbohydrate (dietary fiber included), 60.5 g; dietary fiber, 37.5 g; ash, 8.1 g and energy, 354kcal. Freeze-dried boiled M. oleifera had no clastogenic activity in the mouse while it possessed anticlastogenicactivity against both direct and indirect-acting clastogens. Freeze-dried boiled M. oleifera pod at 1.5%, 3.0%and 6.0% in the diets decreased the number of micronucleated peripheral reticulocytes (MNRETs) induced byboth MMC and DMBA. However, the effect was statistically significant in the dose dependent manner only inthe MMC-treated group. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that bMO has no clastogenicity andpossesses anticlastogenic potential against clastogens, and particularly a direct-acting clastogen in the mouse.