Drugstore Next Door

Name: Gretchen Lafuente Date: March 25, 2011

Drugstore Next Door

Consider yourself lucky if you notice you have malunggay planted in your backyard.

According to Dr. Antonio C. Laurena, Research Professor, Institute of Plant Breeding in UPLB, Malunggay (Moringa olefeira) is a multifunctional plant. It can be used as human food, functional food, medicinal plant, water treatment, pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals and other alternatives.

All parts of malunggay are very useful from its pods down to its roots.

Its leaves contain an equivalent of 7 times the vitamin C in oranges, plus 4 times the calcium in milk and vitamin A in carrots, plus 2 times protein in milk, and 3 times the potassium in bananas, high contents of microelements like copper, manganese, zinc and iron, phytochemicals and antioxidants. It is widely used as vegetable in many parts of the world. It can also be used as feedstock for backyard livestock such as goat, chicken and swine.

Fresh or dried flowers can be made as tea whereas green pods from malunggay can be consumed as vegetable.

Seeds from pods have also many important contributions. It can be extracted as oil, also known as ben oil which can be used for frying; similar to that of the sunflower-seed oil and olive oil, which are expensive vegetable oils. In addition, its oils can be used as ointments and is considered excellent massage oil.

Dr. Laurena also added that as malunggay undergoes processing, its nutritional content also increases. Like the moringa dried leaves, it is approximately 5 times more nutritious than a moringa fresh leaves. Because of this, it now belongs on what you called functional foods. These are foods that contain biologically-active components that provide healthy benefits in which basic nutrition cannot offer.

Moringa dried leaves becomes Moringa leaf poweder when grind. Moringa leaf powder has the greatest impact on those malnourished children, pregnant or lactating women, children at weaning age, HIV/AIDS patients, and senior citizens. Malnourished children ages 1-3 years should consume three rounded tablespoons (25g) of Moringa Leaf Powder each day. Pregnant or lactating women should consume six rounded tablespoons (50g) of moringa leaf powder each day.

According to FAO/WHO standards, these amounts provide the following in terms of RDA3:

Nutrients %RDA in 25g powder for children %RDA in 50g powder for pregnant women

Protein 42% 21%

Calcium 125% 84%

Magnesium 61% 54%

Potassium 41% 22%

Iron 71% 94%

Vitamin A 310% 162%

Vitamin C 22% 9%