Kingsley Ofolikwei Quaye¹, Dickson Aboagye^2,, Herman Caesar Sung-Bawiera Azaanang¹, Joseph Nii Amon Dodoo¹, Eugenia Serwaa Nyampong², Josephine Oppong Frimpomaa², Caleb Ofori Bandoh²

There is an increasing trend in the study of the anti-inflammatory properties and phytochemical content of herbal medicines worldwide. Literature is however lacking on the effects of heat treatment during the processing of medicinal plants of their bioactivities and phytochemical content. This study seeks to fill this gap by investigating how temperature affects the anti-inflammatory properties of Moringa oleifera leaves. The plants were harvested and ground into a powder, after which aqueous and ethanol extracts were conducted. The extract was freeze-dried for further examination. The anti-inflammatory assay activity shows that the IC₅₀ values of moringa leaves at room temperature, 60°C, and 90°C were 0.1313±0.0269, 0.0939±0.0901l, and 0.0757±0.0162 respectively. Diclofenac sodium, a standard anti-inflammatory drug showed an IC₅₀ value of 0.1022±0.0204. The study also showed that temperature influenced the phytochemical components in the moringa leaf extract. Phytochemical components such as reducing sugars, saponins, phenols, flavonoids, triterpenes, and phytosterols were all present.

herbal medicine, anti-inflammatory, phytochemicals, temperature