Moringa oleifera is a wonderful source of highly nutritious foods with major health benefits from reducing blood pressure to balancing blood sugar; it could potentially feed the world.
Moringa oleifera, the "miracle tree," or the "drumstick tree," "horseradish tree," or "malunggay," is a fast-growing, drought-resistant, deciduous tree native to the sub-Himalayan regions of northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, but now grown in South East Asia and popular in Thailand and Laos (1).
Moringa has a high nutritional content; its leaves are particularly rich in protein, vitamins A, B, and C, calcium, potassium, iron, and antioxidants. The leaves can be consumed fresh, cooked like spinach, or dried and ground into a powder for use in juices, smoothies or stews (2).
A rich source of protein? The leaves contain approximately 27.1 grams of protein per 100 grams of dried leaf powder. The protein in Moringa leaves is considered complete, as it contains all nine essential amino acids required by the human body. One study showed that the whole leaf flour contained 28.7% protein, 7.1% fat, 10.9% ashes, 44.4% carbohydrate and 3.0 mg calcium and 103.1mg iron (11).
One review, whilst extolling the virtues of the tree for helping the United Nations feed the world, stated that Moringa, the miracle tree, contained (3):
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10 times more vitamins than carrots,
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7 times more vitamin C than oranges,
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17 times more calcium than milk, and,
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15 times more potassium than bananas.
Young seed pods (drumsticks), can be cooked as a vegetable and taste rather like asparagus. The seeds yield ‘ben oil’, which can be used for cooking, salad dressing, in cosmetics and perfumes or as biodiesel or lubricating oil.
Moringa is a highly nutritious food. The Moringa leaf powder market is expected to be worth over US $6 billion in 2025. For those wanting a comparison, the pea protein market is around US$ 1.75 billion, and the Global whey-protein market is around US$ 12 billion. With all the fuss around Cricket protein, the market is just US$ 30 million.
Moringa in Agriculture
Moringa is also used in agriculture and livestock management. It can be used as green fodder for animals, improving weight gain and milk production. The leaf extract can enhance crop yields by up to 35% when sprayed on plants.
The tree is used as a natural pesticide, soil fertiliser, and to naturally contain but not displace crops and contributes to sustainable farming practices (4).
It is a climate-resilient crop because it is hardy and needs little water.
In fact, the seeds have a unique ability to purify water by coagulating impurities, making them valuable in areas with limited access to clean drinking water.
Moringa in health
Moringa is a traditional Ayurvedic herbal medicine. It contains many bioactive compounds such as glucosinolates, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and alkaloids. These give it a variety of strong properties. Moringa is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, and blood sugar and blood pressure regulating food.
Moringa increases the blood antioxidant level (5), and decreases the blood sugar level (6).
Not surprisingly, Moringa is widely used to treat high blood pressure, inflammation, ulcers, ulcerative colitis, toothache and to lower blood fat levels, and especially, a fatty liver. Local populations also use it for fevers, coughs, asthma and diabetes.
There is some research on the claims that it improves testosterone levels and men’s sexual health (7). It also appears to boost glutathione levels.
When brewed as a tea, the leaves are used to kill gut pathogens. In research Moringa exhibits antimicrobial activity against pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus subtilis, and Listeria monocytogenes, while also supporting the growth of beneficial gut flora (8).
Of course, as with many Ayurvedic herbs, despite being used for centuries, there are few ‘Western Medicine’ research studies.
Does Moringa have anti-cancer effects?
Moringa contains a number of Isothiocyanates (9) and these active substances are known to inhibit cancer proliferation and promote cancer cell apoptosis through multiple signaling pathways, thus curbing cancer migration and metastasis.
Moringa also contains good levels of niazimicin (10), a compound shown to suppress the development of cancer cells in vivo and in vitro.
Why wouldn’t you put some Moringa powder in your morning smoothie?
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References:
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Moringa oleifera: An Updated Comprehensive Review of Its Pharmacological Activities, Ethnomedicinal, Phytopharmaceutical Formulation, Clinical, Phytochemical, and Toxicological Aspects; Ashutosh Pareek et al; Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 20;24(3):2098.
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Moringa oleifera is a Prominent Source of Nutrients with Potential Health Benefits; Zahidul Islam et al; Int J Food Sci. 2021 Aug 10;2021:6627265
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Potential uses of Moringa oleifera and an examination of antibiotic efficacy conferred by M. oleifera seed and leaf extracts using crude extraction techniques available to under-served indigenous populations. Rockwood J. L., Anderson B. G., Casamatta D. A. International Journal of Phytothearpy Research. 2013;3(2):61–71
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How Moringa helps farmers; Heifer International
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Effect of supplementation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves powder on antioxidant profile and oxidative status among postmenopausal women. Kushwaha S., Chawla P., Kochhar A. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2014;51(11):3464–3469. doi: 10.1007/s13197-012-0859-9
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Effect of some Indian vegetables on the glucose and insulin response in diabetic subjects. William F., Lakshminarayanan S., Chegu H. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. 1993;44(3):191–195.
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Androgenic effect of aqueous leaf extract of Moringa oleifera on Leydig TM3 cells in vitro; Chinyerum S. Opuwari et al; Andrologia September 14 2020
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Moringa oleifera Lam and its Therapeutic Effects in Immune Disorders; Xiao Xiao et al; Front Pharmacol. 2020 Dec 17;11:566783.
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Anti-Cancer and Medicinal Potentials of Moringa Isothiocyanate; Yi-Yao Wu et al; Molecules. 2021 Dec 11;26(24):7512.
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An antitumor promoter from Moringa oleifera Lam; Amelia P. Guevara et al; Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology and Environmental Mutagenesis, Volume 440, Issue 2, 6 April 1999, Pages 181-188
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Chemical characteristics and fractionation of proteins from Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves; Estelamar Maria Borges Teixeira et al;