Use ofMoringa oleiferaFlower Pod Extract as Natural Preservative and Development of SCAR Marker for Its DNA Based Identification
The use ofMoringa oleiferaas natural food preservative has been evaluated in the present study. In addition, for quality assurance, the study has also been focused on the shelf life of product to authenticate the identification of plant by development of DNA based marker. Among the different extracts prepared from flower pods ofMoringa oleifera, methanol and aqueous extract exhibited high antibacterial and antioxidant activity, respectively. The high phenolic contents (53.5±0.169 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid contents (10.9±0.094 mg QE/g) were also recorded in methanol and aqueous extract, respectively. Due to instability of bioactive compounds in aqueous extract, methanol extract is considered as potent natural preservative. The shelf life of methanol extract was observed for two months at 4°C under dark conditions. The developed SCAR primers (MOF217/317/MOR317) specifically amplified a fragment of 317 bp from DNA ofMoringa oleiferasamples collected from different regions of Punjab province of Pakistan. The methanol extract ofMoringa oleiferaflower pods has great potential to be used as natural preservative and nutraceutical in food industry.