The most amazing fact about Moringa is that it is a storehouse of nutrients and medicinal chemicals. It is termed as the “Miracle Tree” due to its several uses. Moreover, almost all of its parts have uses and benefits starting from its roots, pods, seeds, barks, flowers and leaves. Primarily, it is used for centuries because of its medicinal properties. It is held that it has anti-fungal, anti-viral, antidepressant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Due to its several uses; it has a long history of medical usage and has a long list for folkloric health benefits.
Malunggay pods are the most valued part of the plant. Each pod contains essential amino acids, vitamins, and other nutrients. These pods may be eaten raw or may be prepared or cooked. May be fried and can produce clear, odorless, and sweet oil called ben oil or behen oil. It has high amounts of behenic acid and is probably the most stable type of oil known to man. Moringa oil has been mentioned as a very useful oil in the medicinal books of Greece and Rome. Even today, this oil is used for a number of industrial applications. It is great for topical use on the skin and the hair. It is also a nice cooking oil with a soft, appealing taste (https://oilhealthbenefits.com/moringa-oil-ben-oil/). Indeed, Moringa oil could be a good substitute for olive oil in the diet as well as for non-food applications, like biodiesel, cosmetics, and a lubricant for fine machinery (Leone, Spada, Battezzati, Schiraldi, Aristil, & & Bertoli, 2016). The seed cake produced after oil extraction may be used as fertilizer or as a medium for water purification (Maghirang, Guevarra, & S., 2009) or as an or as an organic fertilizer to improve agricultural productivity (Leone, Spada, Battezzati, Schiraldi, Aristil, & & Bertoli, 2016).
Moreover, malunggay leaves may be cooked, dried, and crushed into powder that can be used as a food additive. Malunggay is usually cooked with chicken “tinola” or mixed with other vegetables. It is also blanched as salads (Maghirang, Guevarra, & S., 2009). The leaves are separated from the stalks and are either oven- dried or sun-dried. The dried leaves were pulverized and became malunggay tea. The pounded dried leaves are turned into malunggay powder, which can be mixed into common Filipino delicacies, such as soups, sauces, instant noodles, cookies, and chocolates as an added ingredient (https://businessmirror.com.ph/2018/10/04/malunggay-the-countrys-vegetable-icon/). Also, in the Philippines, there is a popular malunggay pandesal, its main ingredient is made up of pounded malunggay.
Malunggay leaves are outstanding sources of nutrition as shown in Table 1, either as fresh or dried. For fresh, it contains 4 times the vitamin A and calcium of carrots and milk that is good for stronger bones, 7 times the vitamins C of oranges, 3 times the Potassium of Bananas and 2 times the protein of yogurt and iron of spinach. Meanwhile, for dried malunggay leaves, it contains ½ times the vitamin C of oranges, 10 times the vitamin A of carrots, 17 times the calcium of milk, 15 times the Potassium of bananas, 9 times the protein of yogurt and 25 times the iron of spinach (De Asis, 2016).
Moringa is believed to have many benefits and its uses range from health and beauty to helping prevent and cure diseases. Some benefits of moringa includes: protect and nourish skin and hair, treats edema- a painful condition where fluid builds up in specific tissues in the body, protects the liver against damage caused by anti- tubercular drugs, treats and help prevent cancer from developing, treat stomach complaints such as constipation, gastritis and ulcerative colitis, it also combat infections caused by bacterial diseases, helps to keep bones healthy and strong, also, it helps to prevent cardiac damage, it help wounds to heal, the extract of moringa help wounds close as well as reduce the appearance of scars, moringa also helps to reduce blood sugar level, it also help reduce the severity of some asthma attacks and protect against bronchial constrictions, moringa contains high levels of antioxidants that might aid toxicity levels in the kidney, as well as it improves eye health, thanks to its high antioxidant levels (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319916).
