What’s the fuss about moringa?

15 May, 2016 - 00:05 0 Views
What’s the fuss about moringa?

The Sunday Mail

Andrew Mangwarara
SO much hype has been generated when it comes to moringa, but is it worth all the excitement? Let’s explore this Indian or Arabian relic.
It’s botanically known as moringa oleifera or more commonly as the horse radish tree. Other names include the drumstick tree, ben oil, never die tree and in Tonga, zakalanda.
Moringa is a tender tree, which can reach 10m in height with a lifespan limited to 20 years.
What first intrigued me was its water purifying properties. If you grind the seeds into a powder and sprinkle the powder into dirty water it renders it safe to drink (but filter the water first to remove the solid particles).
Though it does not remove all the pathogens it is still a good option for communities without access to clean drinking water. Many third world countries are still facing this dilemma. One can use 15mg to 150 mg of powder depending on how clear the water is. This has been studied by leading universities and found to be authentic.
Nutritionally, moringa has been found to contain many of the vitamins and minerals required by the body for health. More so, the quantities found particularly in the leaves make moringa a very important tree for fighting malnutrition.
To bring it into perspective researchers have found out that the leaves contain 9mg vitamin A per 100g, that is three times more than the carrot or spinach. The tree contains more than 20 nutrients in sizeable quantities to serve as an alternative for disadvantaged communities.
Nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, histidine and methionine to mention just a few, are all found in good quantities. Moringa has been used in folk medicine for many ailments such as skin diseases, goiter rheumatism, hysteria, scurvy and diarrhea.
However, some scientific studies have been carried out proving that moringa indeed can help in arsenic toxicity, lowering cholesterol, anti-inflammatory properties, lowering blood sugar levels, anti-oxidant rich and nutritionally rich to aid as a diet supplement.
Other uses of the horseradish include soap making by using the oil extracted from the seeds called ben oil. The oil is also used for essential oil extraction for perfume making processes. Many communities use the young pods and leaves as vegetables whilst the live tree is used as a fence.
Moringa is a drought resistant tree, which is able to grow in areas with rainfall of 250mm per annum but it prefers well drained soils since the roots will rot in water logged soils. It can grow in a wide range of pH from 5 to 9. The tree is generally grown as an annual for fresh pods since the pods become bitter as the tree ages. Never die tree can be grown from seed, which has a high germination rate. Its cuttings of at least a metre long (4cm diameter) quickly take root making it one of the easiest plants to multiply.
The tree can survive without much attention but for more serious production of leaves and pods it is always best to supplement with irrigation and fertigation. Caterpillars or aphids can be a problem because the leaves are tender otherwise it is not cost intensive.
Moringa oleifera is a tree to be reckoned with, definitely a tree for every household, for those lean times such as the elnino induced drought we have experienced this season. There is indeed a necessity to make a lot of fuss about moringa, a tree of the moringaceae family.
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