Comprehensive liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomic analysis of Moringa oleifera seeds

Moringa oleifera seeds which are less explored and nutriment-rich have attracted scientific interest as the seed kernels contain numerous bioactive components with a variety of traditional uses. Besides its medicinal uses, Moringa oleifera biodiesel has shown remarkable potentiality in conducing to the decrease of greenhouse gases and guaranteeing sustainable supply of energy. In this study, the comprehensive analysis of the M. oleifera seeds metabolome was carried out by generating a Molecular Network (MN) from Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) data to profile the ethyl acetate extract. The dereplication information was then collected by the MN, which then compares the MS/MS spectra of the investigated compounds and groups them into clusters based on their fragmentation route similarities. Therefore, identification of the compounds was conducted based on their full MS and MS/MS spectra obtained in positive ion mode. Through mass spectrometry-based molecular networking a total of 54 metabolites were putatively identified encompassing different classes including coumarins, alkaloids, amino acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, fatty acids, steroids and lipids among others. Thus, the identification highlights that M. oleifera seeds could serve as potential biomarker for new drug discovery and can have a wide variety of applications in food industry. Also, these fatty acids (saturated and unsaturated) suggest that the seed is a good candidate for biodiesel production, since they are fundamental to whether M. oleifera seeds can be used as a biofuel feedstock. Key words: Moringa oleifera seeds, biodiesel, sustainable energy, LC-MS/MS, molecular networking.