17/06/2018
Within the past ten years, Moringa oleifera, a tropical, multipurpose tree has grown from being practically unknown, even unheard of, to being a new and promising nutritional and economic resources for developing countries.
The leaves, which are easy to grow and rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, are becoming widely used in projects fighting against malnutrition. Producing moringa leaves is also a means of generating agricultural income, developing the food processing industry and founding new businesses.
Native to India, the moringa tree grows widely in Africa, where, up until recently, it used solely around houses to form hedges or to give shade. Occasionally it was used for medicinal purposes or collected for food.
The Hausa from Niger and Nigeria, who eat the moringa leaves as a vegetable, are the only ones who have been, for decades now, growling and selling this product.
The moringa plant (Moringa oleifera) is known worldwide for its nutritional and medicinal benefits and industrial uses. Almost every part of the moringa plant has nutritional value.
The pod is cooked as a vegetable in India and exported to many countries for Indian expatriates, fresh or canned.
The root can be used as substitute for horseradish. Foliage is eaten as greens, boiled, fried, in soups or for seasonings.
Dried leaf powder can be added to any kind of meal as a nutritional supplement.
The seed can be roasted and eaten like a peanut. The seeds can be used as a flocculent to clarify water and as a source of non-drying and very stable oil, known as Ben oil.
The oil extracted from the seed, which was once used for lubricating watches and other delicate machinery, is clear, sweet and odourless, almost never going rancid. It is edible and it is becoming increasingly popular in cosmetics industry.
Leaves and young branches are used as fodder.
Moringa may also be used in fish and poultry feed.
The bark yields a blue dye and can also be used as tanning.
The wood can produce paper.
A plant growth hormone can be extracted from young shoots, which when applied as foliar sprayer, increase yields dramatically in any plant.
Last not least, almost every part of this plant has pharmacological properties.