Abstract

The study aimed at determining the minor and major elements present in seeds of Moringa ovalifolia and Moringa oleifera.  The seeds were air-dried after collection, then ground to a fine powder and digested with acids in a microwave system prior to analysis by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The concentration of different elements in M. ovalifolia seeds such as Ca, K, Fe, Ni, Cu, Mn, Co and Cd varied (P<0.05) amongst the 3 sites were sampled. However, no significant difference (P>0.05) in the concentrations of elements such Mg, Li, Ba, Si, Al, Na and Zn was observed between sites. Potasium (K) was found to be present in highest amounts at all sites with average concentration of 7938 mg/kg while Li (10.78 mg/kg) had the lowest concentration. This study showed that the content of some metals in M. ovalifolia seeds varied depending on geographical sites. Both M. ovalifolia and M. oleifera seeds are a good source of important minerals and need to be explored further for use as supplements and ready source of dietary minerals in animal and human food.

Key words: Elemental analysis, Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy, macronutrients,