The Moringa Tree as a Superfood.

Author Information

Magdalena Zazirska Gabriel
American River College
Geography 350: Data Acquisition in GIS
Fall 2015

Abstract

The Moringa tree ‘Moringa oleifera’ is a superfood for westerners and a lifesaving food for people in developing countries touched by malnutrition. The tree grows in subtropical and tropical climates without needing rich soil. This versatile nutritious tree provides food, medicine, water clarification, building material, and fencing materials. It is critical to spread information about this tree and support the nonprofit organizations that promote health benefits to those most in need.

Introduction

Super food is a trendy name used by media and advertising companies for foods that promote health. It also has properties used to reduce risk of diseases, or improving physical and emotional health. Superfoods may have a high content of nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. There are several fruits, vegetables and grains being considered as superfoods. Is this a marketing trend to make higher profits on sale of these products? Perhaps consuming superfood is truly beneficial to our health and we should make a point of including them in our diet. The Moringa tree ‘Moringa oleifera’ is considered as a superfood and is widely grown in developing countries and used as a source of every day nutritious food that is widely available to eat. It grows in subtropical and tropical regions and it is easy to grow.

Background

‘Moringa oleifera’ is one of the fourteen species in the Moringaceae family. Moringa tree is also known as “radish tree”, “drumstick tree”, horseradish tree”, “kelor tree”, “benzolive tree”, “mother’s best friend”, “never die tree”, “Tree of life”, “mlonge”, “moonga”, “mulangay”, and many other names (Rockwood, J.L., B.G.Anderson, et al. (2013). Moringa is used for medicinal purposes, lumber, charcoal, fencing, water clarification and lubricating oil (Fahey, J.W., 2005). Moringa originated in Arabia and India, and today is very common in various tropical and subtropical regions, from South Asia to West Africa. The tree is also found in Eastern and Southern Africa, in South and Central America, and in many Pacific islands (Marcu, M.G., 2005). Cultivation of the tree is best with temperature range of 77 to 86 degrees F (25 to 30 degrees C), with annual rainfall of 40 – 80 inches (1,000 – 2,000 mm) and elevations from sea level to 3,000 ft. (1,000 m). Moringa is drought tolerant and as a crop responds well to irrigation and fertilization. The best soils are well drained and neutral pH but Moringa tolerates poor soils in the range of 4.5 – 9.0 pH (Radovich, 2009). Moringa trees produce rich, nutritional leaves in the drought season when other sources of food are limited (Marcu, 2013). Leaves contain β – carotene, protein, vitamin C, calcium and potassium, and acts as a natural antioxidant (Anwar, F., S. Latif et al., 2006). It is interesting that Moringa often grows in the same regions where severe malnutrition is present.

Methods

For this project the internet was the main source of the literature and article reviews. It was extremely difficult to find actual complete data regarding Moringa tree growth throughout the world. Information about where the Moringa tree grows came from the nonprofit organization - Trees for Life http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/names-of-moringa. Malnutrition data used to create the world map representing acute malnutrition was provided by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2014. 2014 Global Nutrition Report Dataset. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/27857 . This data was used to create the map of Africa where malnutrition is very common and also where the Moringa tree grows well.

Results

The Moringa tree is a very resourceful tree. It is common knowledge that plants contain chemicals that are beneficial to animals and humans as well. Moringa is often named as a miracle tree because all the parts of the tree (flowers, leaves, pods, seeds, oil, and roots) are utilized in many ways. Young pods are used as a vegetable because they are fibreless and can be cooked like string beans. The nutritious leaves are served in many dishes including soups, stews and stir fried. Leaves are also eaten by the livestock. Two trees may produce enough pods and leaves to feed a family. Moringa seeds are used to produce oil. The press cake left over after extracting seed oil is also utilized as a fertilizer and as a flocculent for water clarification. Moringa wood pulp is suitable for making newsprint and writing paper, live fence posts. The wood yields a blue dye. Traditional medicinal uses of some of Moringa parts are listed below.

The image below shows fresh leaves are very nutritious. In harsh climates this food is very important especially for children and breastfeeding mothers. According to many sources dried leaves are high in vitamins and proteins.

Source: http://healthymanners.com/moringa-the-miracle-tree/

The problem of malnutrition in our world results in suffering and death ( top map in red).

It is interesting that Moringa grows exactly in the same places (bottom map in green).

For the purpose of this project I created a map of countries where Moringa grows and the percentages of severe acute malnutrition in Africa for 2012.

Analysis

The results indicate that the Moringa tree is known as The Miracle Tree, or Tree of Life for a reason. It is used in many different forms which saves peoples lives from a deficit of nutritional food, especially in developing countries. Its nutritional value and anti-cancer and anti-inflamatory properties got attention in the media which labled it a superfood. In cold climates this tree can grow in a pot inside of the house. This image is a great summary of uses of the Moringa tree.

Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IuQmCXifWe8/U0wel_Ch5mI/AAAAAAAABP8/s_gIyHd9854/s1600/Moringa.jpg

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would recommend to check the nutritional value of the foods that we eat everyday. Is it diversified enough or do we need to grow our own Moringa tree and harvest the leaves for the salad bowl knowing its nutritional value. It is amazing that this tree can grow in the countires were it is needed the most and can provide so much for people in need. There is more research to be done on Moringa since is so valuable as a natural medicine, food, and building material.

References

Anwar, F., S. Latif et al., (2006). Moringa oleifera: A food plant with multiple medicinal uses. Published online 6 November in Wiley InterScience. ( www.interscience.wiley.com) 2015.11.02

Fahey, J.W., 2005. Moringa oleifera: ArReview of the medical evidence for its nutritional, therapeutic, and prophylactic properties. Part 1. Trees for Life Journal. 1 – 5.

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2014. 2014 Global Nutrition Report Dataset. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/27857 2015.12.02

Marcu, M.G. 2013. Miracle Tree. 1 – 5.

Radovich, 2009. T. Farm and forestry production and marketing profile for Moringa (Moringa oleifera). http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/radovichT/downloads/Moringa_specialty_crop.pdf 2015.12.09.

Rockwood, J.L., B.G.Anderson, et al. (2013) Potential uses of Moringa oleifera and an examination of antibiotic efficacy conferred by M. oleifera seed and leaf extracts using crude underserved indigenous poplulations. IJPR. Vol.3.2. 61 – 71.

Trees for life http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/names-of-moringa 2015.12.02.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Population Prospects: The 2012 revision, 2013. Available from: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm 2015.12.02.

Image 1. http://www.med-health.net 2015.12.02.