Moringa oleifera is one of the best known and most widely distributed natural species of a monogeneric family
moringaceae. The raw materials used in this work are matured healthy Moringa oleifera pods obtained from the Federal
College of Agriculture, Moor Plantation, Apata, Ibadan. The proximate analysis of the seed was carried out using the standard
analytical methods and the results were as follows: moisture content: 4.34%, ash content: 5.09%, ether extractive: 46.00%,
crude fibre: 6.72%, crude protein: 19.91%, carbohydrate: 17.94%. Also the oil was extracted from Moringa oleifera seed
using soxhlet extractor with n-Hexane as extraction solvent. The physicochemical properties of the oil was determined which
indicated that the acid value was 6.60mg/g, iodine number: 31.15mg/g, peroxide value: 14.75mg/g. free fatty acid: 3.32mg/g,
saponification value: 80.16mg/g, refractive index: 1.46, specific gravity: 0.91, viscosity: 76.51 pas/sec, fire point: 329.000C,
flash point: 250.00C, smoke point: 129.000C. The result showed that Moringa oleifera oil is edible and can be used in soap
production.
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