Moringa Oleifera: While this vegetable tree can grow to be 30 feet tall, gardeners may prune it annually to keep its edible leaves and long thin seedpods within easy reach. (Jaybee)
A ‘miracle tree’ that could feed sub-Saharan Africa
The moringa’s leaves and seedpods deliver extraordinary nutrition, advocates say, but aid groups await a formal study.
By Vijaysree Venkatraman | September 19, 2008 edition
Cambridge, Mass.
As a child growing up in India, I greeted the appearance of one particular vegetable on my plate with exaggerated distaste: tender seedpods from the moringa tree, locally known as “drumsticks.” Imagine my surprise when I heard a health worker from sub-Saharan Africa describe this backyard tree as a possible solution to malnutrition in tropical countries – he called it a “miracle tree,” no less.
Ounce for ounce, says Lamine Diakite, a Red Cross official from French Guinea in West Africa, moringa leaves contain more beta carotene than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin C than oranges, and more potassium than bananas. Its protein content is comparable to that of milk and eggs, and its leaves are still available for harvest at the end of the dry season, when other food may be scarce. Malnourished children gained weight when put on a timely dietary supplement made from the leaves, Mr. Diakite says. He passed around pouches of the green, hennalike powder at a recent international summit in Boston.
Until a decade ago, moringa was not widely known in Africa. Its leaves (boiled like spinach) were an occasional vegetable. Immigrant Indians prized the long, slender seedpods (stewed or cooked like green beans) as a delicacy. “But its nutritional value, newly ‘discovered,’ has been known for a long time,” says Lowell Fuglie, an international development administrator who has been instrumental in popularizing the moringa in Africa for the past 10 years. Laboratory analysis has corroborated traditional knowledge about the plant. It now awaits further validation by western science.
But even those who know moringa is edible don’t always exploit its nutritional value, particularly beneficial to those eating a carbohydrate-heavy diet (meat is often costly in Africa).
Senegalese people using moringa leaves to make mboum sauce, for example, discard the cooking water, which contains many nutrients, Mr. Fuglie says. His interest was sparked by research findings collated by the nonprofit Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO). “Seeing moringa described as the most nutritious of all tropical vegetables,” says Fuglie, whose father worked for USAID in Africa, “I wondered why there was so much malnutrition in regions where the tree is easily grown and used.”
Species of moringa are native to the Indian subcontinent and pockets of Asia and Africa. One species in particular, Moringa oleifera, which has especially edible leaves, has become naturalized in other regions, says Mark Olson, an evolutionary biologist. Moringa growing wild on Mexico’s Pacific coast probably arrived long ago via the Philippines when Spanish galleons sailed between Manila and Acapulco, he says. He has traveled to remote areas to document the dozen or so species of the diverse, hardy native of the dry tropics. “It’s very hard to kill the moringa with drought or heat,” he says. Protein-rich plants like soybeans and legumes cannot survive such conditions or thrive in poor soil.
The fact that the leaves – and not just the seedpods and seeds – are edible makes moringa a desirable crop. The seeds also yield oil that could be used as biofuel, and ground seeds can help purify water. Parts of the tree are used in traditional medicine. It also grows rapidly (good for reforestation), reaching a mature height of 30 feet, though often it’s pruned annually to be as short as five feet, to keep leaves and seedpods within easy reach. It would be difficult to find a low-maintenance tree that offers more, says Fuglie.
In the 1980s, development workers began to hear of the tree. Its popularity grew by leaps when Fuglie began to promote the shade-dried leaf powder as a food supplement, says Martin Price, director of ECHO. Reports from Fuglie’s pilot nutrition project were persuasive.
Still, there have been no clinical human trials to quantify the moringa’s role in fighting malnutrition, says Jed Fahey of Johns Hopkins University. He is a volunteer for Trees for Life International, a group that promotes planting moringas. Based on centuries of human consumption, however, a strong case can be made that eating the leaves causes no harm, says Dr. Fahey, a phytochemical researcher.
But because there is no definitive dietary study on the moringa, the scientific community and relief agencies still have reservations. Fuglie predicts that more moringas will be planted once aid organizations are convinced of the leaves’ nutrition. Fuglie needs no persuading: If you had to design an affordable source of enriching supplements for the dry tropics, he says, “it may be impossible to come up with anything better than the moringa.”
( More stories )
Comments
2. Josephus | 09.19.08
That will work only in Non Muslim Countries. Muslim goat herders will make sure that anything green is devoured by their animals. The Sahara was green before the blessings of the Prophet arrived and declared every animal dirty except goats and sheep.
I thought that Allah would be of the opinion that he never created dirty animals, except some vicious murderers, by giving them a free will.
3. LOL | 09.19.08
Josephus. LOL. The Sahara used to be green because it used to rain there. With the retreat of the glaciers in the northern hemisphere, the rain/dry belts shifted north as well. If the glaciers come back, the Sahara will be green again– this cycle has repeated itself dozens if not hundreds of times, just in the last million years or so. This is well-accepted geological/meteorological fact.
Cattle, I believe, are clean to Muslims. You should see some of the damage here on the native North American prairie where I live– which was done a century ago by greedy, Christian (?) ranchers over-grazing the land with cattle. Sheep and goats are certainly more dangerous in marginal areas than cattle and other grass-eaters since they graze so closely to the ground, but do you think pigs would do better? What else is unclean? What else would survive in the Sahara?
Who made you an expert anyway?
You can blame Muslims for many things– I’ve got more than my share of problems with that religion– but creating the Sahara desert is not one of them.
4. Tom McMurray | 09.19.08
Why would “Josephus” post a comment so lacking in truth? The Sahara was a desert long before Jesus, much less Muhammad walked the earth.
Why does the “Monitor” allow such blatant lies to be posted?
5. Harvey Tepfer | 09.19.08
I’m for anything that works! We should plant forests of the Maringas in W. Texas since the trees handle drought conditions so well. Would also break up
the monotony of the flat landscape there. Then we could commercialize the crops and commence a thriving food enterprise while also feeding the disadvantaged.
6. Jonathan Byron | 09.19.08
I would have put a Moringa tree in my yard a few years ago, but it’s biggest limit is that the tree is not frost-resistant. The New Guinea winged bean is another plant powerhouse - it is also susceptible to freezing temperatures, but it can be grown as an annual in colder areas. All parts of the plant are edible, and it is rich in protein and many nutrients.
7. Anon | 09.19.08
I think the pods are closest to Artichokes in taste, and in how we eat it. Anyone who has eaten boiled artichokes (not the pickled crud on Pizzas) knows its subtle flavor which goes so well with sourcream or other dressings.
The leaves taste great in soups or crisp sauteed with butter.
In general its a very rich vegitable, and I would recommend eating it perhaps once a week - not every day. Its great even on a US diet as so often we are marginally malnourished when it comes to vitamins and minerals - what with all the junk food…
Happy feasting all.
8. V.Vijaysree | 09.19.08
Commenter 1 — Edie:
This was the international summit:
http://www.iddsummit.org/
10. coyote | 09.19.08
Before we start massive plantings everywhere, it would be good to see if there are natural predators or conditions to keep the plant in check. We have way too many invasive species that were imported to meet a need only to find that they overwhelm native species and upset ecological balances.
What keeps the moringa tree within its current range? Good to know before leaping.
11. Dan | 09.19.08
Are these things sold anywhere in this country? I’d like to try eating a few of these things myself before I advocate a massive Moringa planting campaign in Africa. By trying it in the west first, we won’t risk starving large numbers of people if it turns out that the Moringa doesn’t live up to its promise.
BTW - Muslims aren’t the only people out there who heard goats. Blaming them for creating the Sahara is silly.
12. ISI ILAGUMA | 09.20.08
Have 2 plantations of Moringa in Kigali City, Rwanda, with about 8000 trees on approx.6 acres. World Food Programme officials visited the project back in 2003, but there was no follow-up. I started it in late 2002, thanks to info available from “churchworldservice.org”.You’ll find there scientific data of unquestionable value. By the way, for purposes of carbon emissions reduction, this plant has high absorptive properties to eliminate those emissions. When available in large commercial quantities, the price for seeds and leaves stands at USD 33.00 per kilo. For interested researchers or processors in East Africa or in the Great Lakes Region,those trees are to be pruned down to 25 cm height, by January next year. This will mean huge biomass quantities available. My E’mail is as above…. but enquiries will be answered only if from patently serious organisations or companies. Happy to share this privileged info.
13. Charlz Castro | 09.20.08
Those of you who would like to taste or at least gain some culinary experience on moringa are invited to come to the Philippines anytime. Moringa is found anywhere in the country’s 7,100 islands and is almost always available in the market as a vegetable.
We Filipinos have been using the young leaves and young pods of the moringa since time immemorial. The leaves are cooked along with green papaya, ginger, some salt or fish paste, and chicken — and the resulting broth is good for mothers who need to produce milk for their babies. The young pods are also cooked like string beans, flavored with fried fish and tomatoes, or bits of roast chicken or pork adobo.
If you could not come to the Philippines, an alterrnative would be to go to Hawaii, USA. In Honolulu and the Big Island, you would know that a Filipino (or a Hawaiian resident either of Philippine ancestry or married to a Filipina)lives nearby if you get to see a moringa tree growing in front of the house or as part of the living fence.
Check this out: it is even believed that people who frequently include moringa in their diet do not only get iron and vitamins; they also get immune from cancer and skin disease.
14. Nanda.A | 09.20.08
Moringa is back yard tree in Southern India, it is propagted through shoot cuutings, it grows fastly, its medicinal vallues were known in Indian medicine system -Ayurveda.It has good taste, it fruit too used to make curry (Sambar).
15. zubaida | 09.20.08
I have grown up eating Moringa and never known of its benefits, If any of you have happen to visit South India, it is found in the back yard of a traditional south indian house.
I was one of the organisers at IDDS 2008 and if you want to know more about the exciting happenings at the summit. I recommend you visit http://www.iddssummit.org and http://www.appropedia.org/idds where information on all the cool projects is posted.
16. Anon | 09.20.08
Buy Morunga in any US city.
Just Walk into any Indian Grocery Store and ask for Drumstick vegitable or drumstick leaves.
Many stores have it fresh while some have it frozen - of course the fresh ones taste really good - like artichokes. If they dont have it fresh, they can usually order it.
Happy eating.
No - unfortunately the trees are not frost tolerant. You can either keep them indoors in winter or can use them as annyuals for the leaves.
Can get seeds from web in many places. Will let you know in next post.
18. Anon | 09.20.08
You can get seeds here for under $4
http://www.amazon.com/Drumstick-tree-seed-packet/dp/B00022KIS0
19. Tommy Jalisco | 09.20.08
I would like to process these leaves and pods into pills, ram them through the idiots at the FDA (the tomato killers ;)), sell these pastillas to the Gringos - they’d buy them in droves. I see another MLM in the works - anyone care to join me?
Adios,
Tommy
20. ike suarez | 09.20.08
Hi:
Is its Philippine name, malunggay?
Just asking. Filipinos know of no vegetable tree by the name, moringa.
Ike
21. Nikolai | 09.20.08
A discussion of the tree’s growing range, etc. would be a nice thing to post on the gardening blog — along with a recipe or two!
22. fast boy | 09.21.08
hi,
I read this and planted a tree yesterday and today it has bought forth fruits what a this.please tell me what shall I do
23. Will Durand | 09.21.08
The drumstick vegetable is seen as nutritious to the male sexual organs. In South India, post-puberty males are given this dish on a weekly basis to strengthen sexual vigor.
24. john scott | 09.22.08
I’m reforesting an abandoned coconut plantation in Philippines. I plan to
inquire at the DENR (Dept. of the Environment and Natural Resourses)if I
can buy Moringa Oleifera seed since I got my teak and mahogany seed there.
I’ll visit Manila next month, so I can inquire at the Central Market in
Santa Cruz and sample this marvelous sounding product. Thanks for this
most useful article. If humans can eat Moringa with no ill effects, surely
livestock can too.
25. friedbrains | 09.22.08
Yes, in the Philippines it is called “malunggay” or “malungay”. This vegie is something that many Filipinos and Indians, particularly South Indians share in the Middle-East. If I am not mistaken, one South Indian friend of mine called it “marungay” or something, which incidentally it is also called “marungay” by Ilocanos in the Philippines. By the way, Ilocano is another language spoken mostly in the Northern part of the Philippines, and is one of the big groups in the Philippines.
Isn’t it interesting that “morunga”, “marungay”, “malungay” are sounding the same?
Try the “Crispy Malunggay Leaves”. It is deep fried, morunga leaves coated with bread crumbs and corn starch, like Japanese deep fried breaded vegies. Yummy, and nutritious!
26. Ruben D Salazar | 09.22.08
I have been planting and using moringa for a while and can attest to its many benefits. There is plenty of good and serious information on the web and books, such as: THE MIRACLE TREE by Lowell J. Fuglie and MORINGA, NATURE´S MEDICINE CABINET by Sanford Holst.
27. Lowell Fuglie | 09.22.08
Moringa trees can be found in almost every country in the tropics and sub-tropics, although it is known by other names. To see a detailed list of vernacular names for Moringa, look into the websites http://www.moringanews.org or http://www.treesforlife.org
In West African countries, it is primarily the leaves which are used in sauces. Several parts of the tree are used medicinally. In some areas, the leaves and stems are fed to livestock.
28. tushar t | 09.22.08
It silly to read people blaming each other religion for shara desert status. moringa tree(in HINDI call moenga) is very common in india you will find it in very non metro city colony house in there backyard at least one tree. all the parts are edible you cannot use its trunk as teakwood or firewood moisture content is very high. though take its leaves, flower,fruit every thing is edible. indian are eating it for centuries know the medicinal value of moringa.to plant it dont run for its seed just cut one branch erect it in the soil it will grow( specially in rainy season).enjoy the drumsticks stew
29. Miles Denney, M.A. | 09.22.08
I am doing scientific testing on Moringa oleifera trees. It is a tree that harvests like a vegetable. I have about 6,000 Moringa olefera trees planted on an organic farm in Southern California. I am growing to test the three modes of cultivation: leaf mode, seed mode and biointensity dense mode. My experiance with moringa began with using it as a substance to quickly eliminate micronutrient deficiency. For me it works. I make no claims about what it can do. You can do your own research and find that out.
30. slow boy | 09.22.08
hi,
I`m very much impressed by this nutritional data.But I`m not sure that all this nutrients will be absorbed into our digestional tract.I know that lot of nutrients in our food intake goes unabsorbed.Can someone come with details on this.please!!!!!!!!!!!
31. b. Mother | 09.23.08
Am very interested in talking with the growers of this tree–Miles Denny & Isi Ilaguma & any others. I am a tree planter in Bali. I am interested in discussing increasing its productivity. It looks like a legume. Does anyone know? I love the Christian Science Monitor. It is like having a personal researcher go out and find fascinating stories for me to read everyday. It has brought me tree planting projects.
32. LEMETAIS | 09.23.08
Dear Friends
This is a good idea, but we are working on this tree with clinical and research studies.Trials hve been conducted within wwo of our Unicef pilot villages in Burkina faso with excellent results. same in Niger for feeding animals. Same in Kenya, Philippines, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Guinea with African nutritionnists trained in USA with PhD and back to their country. Now, with our scientific results, we are going to plant thousands of moringa trees as we have the full market and buyers.
Eric lemetais
mail: eric.lehavre@wanadoo.fr
33. South Indian | 09.24.08
Many from Tamilnadu in India claim that the moringa has a serious pest called the Kambli Poochi — don’t know the scientific name but some suspect it is just a very hairy catterpillar.
So, is this pest also found in Africa? If yes, is there an organic way of getting rid of it?
34. kkASOZI SAMSON | 09.25.08
With alot of research done there is no doubting the tree is very usefull to both human being and animals. Here in Uganda communities are very proud of the benefits. The only thing required is to encourage people in countries where there is a problem of enjoying the leaves to start getting powder from where Moringa can be grown organically
Samson
36. OCTAVIO TORRES | 09.26.08
I received in 2000 from Dr Lowell severals seeds and today we are the major distributors of seedlings and seeds in Colombia specialy to farmers-cow feed
besides in coordination with goverment authorities we are doing promotion for a “big farm” with Moringa in all northern of our country
Also we are learning to farmers to comsumption because in this region there are a high malnutrition
ambyagroltd@yahoo.co.uk
37. Hey Now | 10.24.08
I wanted to echo what coyote was saying about leaping before looking. Just in the last few decades there have been many “miracle plants” that have proved invasive and eventually damaging to the places where they have been introduced (eucaplyptus in Peru is a good example–it’s sapping the water supply!). Would we be introducing this plant in places where it doesn’t naturally grow? It may be cynical, but also safe to take these “miracles” with a grain of salt and ask what the environmental implications might be before making a move…
Anyone know?
38. Melly Banagale | 11.11.08
I planted moringa tree from seeds in pots here in Austin, Texas. One has been moved to the garden. They are all doing fine so far. They died back last winter and came back in spring. My plant on the ground is just 8 mos. old but quite short compared to those planted in the Philippines. People in our community have asked for seeds and I’ve given them to plant in huge pots. Someone out of Austin sells fresh and dried leaves but terribly over priced. I gave seeds to some organic farmers to plant and asked them to research on the internet its nutrients and medicinal uses. Hopefully they will propagate it and sell the leaves and pods so all who need it would have a local source. Does anyone know if the frozen leaves are any good?
Melly
39. Gena Fleming | 12.03.08
“But because there is no definitive dietary study on the moringa, the scientific community and relief agencies still have reservations.”
I don’t believe that’s true. There is plenty of evidence that Moringa is highly nutritious and remedies malnutrition. It has a full spectrum of amino acids. Its use as a traditional food is well established.
There are a growing number of patents on Moringa. A nutraceutical drink is already on the market in the USA that contains Moringa — and the MLM company that markets it has a patent application pending in an attempt to monopolize the marketplace on virtually any nutraceutical product containing this plant.
Since the Bayh Dole Act in 1980, university researchers are required to submit pattent applications before they publish any of their research, even when that research is carried out with taxpayer money. The delay is about market positioning and market control; it is not based on reservations about the benefits of Moringa.
Hooray to all of you that are growing Moringa!
40. suyash | 01.06.09
it is strongly mentioned here that it is a backyard tree,but city peoples are not having back yard .thus I am working on to grow the seeds in pot culture for fleshy leaves only as it regrows after cuttting.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Leave a Comment
We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. The comments feature is a forum to discuss the ideas in our stories. Constructive debate - even pointed disagreement - is welcome, but personal attacks on other commenters are not, and will not be published.
Tip: Do not write a novel. Keep it short. We will not publish lengthy comments. Come up with your own statements. This is not a place to cut and paste an email you received. If we recognize it as such, we won't post it.
Please do not post any comments that are commercial in nature or that violate copyrights.
Finally, we will not publish any comments that we regard as obscene, defamatory, or intended to incite violence.
1. Edie Frederick | 09.19.08
Thank you for this excellent article & contacts for further information. Please
post the name of that “recent international summit in Boston.”