MALUNGGAY: NATURE'S MEDICINE CABINET

This morning, I got an email from a friend about the benefits of malunggay leaves - scientific name: moringa oleifera. I have known malunggay since childhood and I am convinced of its medicinal value. Here's the article:

MALUNGGAY: NATURE'S MEDICINE CABINET

By Henrylito D. Tacio

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away," so goes a popular saying in the
United States. Here, in the Philippines, the plant that can do the same
trick is the common malunggay (known in the science world as 'Moringa
oleifera'). Malunggay is so rich in nutrients and vitamins that its image
is used as the official logo of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute
(FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology.

Touted by scientists as "miracle vegetable," malunggay has been promoted
by no less than the World Health Organization (WHO) as a low-cost health
enhancer in poor countries around the globe. It is getting raves in
western countries where the National Science Foundation, National
Geographic Society and the Andrew Mellon Foundation in the United States
are reportedly financing scientists to collect the world's 13 malunggay
species.

Why so much ado about malunggay? As one doctor in Senegal (West Africa)
puts it: "We have always had problems with the classical approach to
treating malnourished children. This was based on industrial products:
whole milk powder, vegetable oil and sugar. All these things are
expensive. When you tell a parent to go out and buy these things – this
can be truly costly for him. On the other hand, with moringa the resource
is locally available. The people themselves can produce it. We have done
experiments in treating malnourished children with this plant and the
results have been really spectacular. "

No wonder then that during the Marcos administration, there was a craze
about malunggay , being a solution to the malnutrition problem in the
countryside. In fact, the president himself was a malunggay addict,
consuming soup littered with green leaves in every meal in addition to the
legendary 'saluyot' and 'labong' (bamboo shoots) as his main fare.

In the Philippines, bunches of malunggay leaves are available in many
markets, priced below many other leaf vegetables. The leaves are most
often added to a broth to make a simple, and highly nutritious soup. The
leaves are also sometimes used as a characteristic ingredient in 'tinola'
-- a traditional chicken dish, composed of chicken in a broth, malunggay
leaves, and either green papaya or another secondary vegetable.

But despite its legendary potentials, malunggay is still relatively
unknown. "The sale of all forms of vitamins, minerals, and health
supplements is a big business," points out Moringa Zinga, an American
company that promotes and sells malunggay products in capsules. "If you
are a company selling hundreds of nutritional products, why would you sell
a product that will wipe out all your other products? This is true for the
pharmaceutical industries as well. These industries would rather that the
general public remains ignorant about the moringa leaves."

Nutritionists aver that 100 grams of malunggay leaves yield the following:
75 calories of energy (higher than ampalaya, squash, tomatoes, or
carrots), 5.9 grams protein (higher than cauliflower, lettuce, or
mustard), 12.8 grams carbohydrate (higher than okra, papaya, or
watermelon), 353 milligrams calcium (higher than gabi leaves, mung beans,
squash, and camote tops), 3.7 milligrams niacin (higher than other
vegetables analyzed). And for thiamin, phosphorus, and ascorbic acid,
malunggay is at the top of the list.

In addition, nutritionists affirm that 200 grams of malunggay leaves would
give a nutritive value roughly equivalent to four eggs and two glasses of
milk. Its iron compound prevents deficiency of red blood cells known as
anemia. And being a very rich source of calcium, it aids in maintaining
healthy bones and teeth.

Malunggay is also rich in vitamin A (higher than red and green mung beans,
radish, or eggplant), thus helping prevent xerophthalmia, a disease of the
eye. Adults are urged to eat malunggay leaves as its vitamin C content
is higher than those of ampalaya leaves. Vitamin C may protect against
declining mental ability and stroke. In studies with elderly people,
researchers found that low vitamin C levels contributed to shower
reasoning skills, which was a strong factor in their dying from stroke.

Malunggay is often called as the "mother's best friend." For lactating
mothers, malunggay helps produce vitamin-rich milk for the baby.
Nutritionists claim that its calcium content is four times those found in
milk.

"Due to its high vitamins A, C, and E, which are very potent
antioxidants, " reports FNRI's Dr. Lydia M. Marero, " malunggay is a very
good quencher of unstable free radicals that can react with and damage
molecules that cause aging. Antioxidants reduce the appearance of wrinkles
and fine lines. They also prevent the onset of various chronic diseases
like arthritis, cancer, and heart and kidney diseases."

Dr. Marero also reports that malunggay contains the phytochemical
niaziminin, which is found to have molecular components that can prevent
the development of cancer cells and correlated with inhibitory ability
against superoxide generation. The first naturally-occurring
thiocarbamates, novel hypotensive agents niazinin A, niazinin B,
niazimicin and niaziminin A and B were isolated from malunggay.

There are even more health benefits. Vivencio Mamaril, of Bureau of
Plant Industry, told a national daily that in India, malunggay is used in
treating various ailments. A 2001 study in India has found that the
fresh root of the young tree can be used to treat a fever. Asthmatics
are advised to drink the infusion from the roots of the plant.

Tender malunggay leaves also reduce phlegm and are administered internally
for scurvy and catarrhal conditions, while the flowers are used to heal
inflammation of the tendons and abscesses. Unripe pods of malunggay can
prevent intestinal worms, while the fruit also prevents eye disorders.

On September 14, 2007, Senator Loren Legarda campaigned for the
popularization of malunggay, after a recent scientific report that it
boosts male potency. She asked the government to make malunggay among its
priority crops for propagation. Research at the Bureau of Plant Industry
(BPI) found that a steady consumption of its fruit "helps to raise sperm
count and mobility, which both translate to increased opportunity for the
sperm to fertilize an egg." This is good news for men who may not be
able to sire children. They can now count on the malunggay to work its
magic on them.

Dr. Kumar Pati, an Indian doctor who is an expert in natural medicine
reports that because of its nutritional content, malunggay strengthens the
immune system, controls blood pressure, relieves headaches and migraines,
manages the sugar level thereby preventing diabetes, reduces inflammations
and arthritis pains, restricts the growth of tumors, and heals ulcers.

Unknown to many Filipinos, malunggay has the ability to purify water.
"The crushed moringa seeds can clear very turbid water," said Dr. John
Sutherland, of Leicester University's Department of Environmental
Technology. He added that powdered malunggay seeds are appropriate for
water purification in rural areas of tropical countries.

Planting malunggay trees can also help stabilize soil and contribute to
fight against deforestation. The malunggay tree is highly resistant to
drought and needs little care. It is fast-growing and lives for average
of 50 years. Each tree can produce approximately 10,000 seeds a year.
It also makes an excellent fuel and fertilizer.###