SCIENTIFIC FACTS ABOUT MORINGA

The information has been collected from literature minning of 60 papers on Moringa from PUBMED

The PMID numbers are listed as the end of the content.

Moringa (Moringaceae) is a highly valued plant, distributed in many countries of the tropics and subtropics. It has an impressive range of medicinal uses with high nutritional value. There are different Moringa taxa. Moringa oleifera, M. concanensis, M. stenopetala, an M. concanensis X oleifera hybrid, and M. longituba. Biochemical characterization of moringa seed soluble fiber revealed that it is a protease resistant-glycoprotein with 5% neutral sugars. M. longituba have highest protein content and M. ruspoliana having the highest calcium levels. The chemical characteristic of the leaves of M. oleifera were done. The whole leaf flour contained 28.7% crude protein, 7.1% fat, 10.9% ashes, 44.4% carbohydrate and 3.0mg 100g(-1) calcium and 103.1mg 100g(-1) iron.

Diabetes:

Moringa has been used in traditional health systems to treat diabetes mellitus. 

Moringa oleifera aqueous leaf extract (MOE) significantly prevented protein oxidation manifested by reducing protein carbonyl and the depletion of protein thiol in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05).

 Thus, the findings indicated that polyphenols containing in MOE have high potential for decreasing protein glycation and protein oxidation that may delay or prevent AGE-related diabetic complications.

Vitamin A in Serum and livers :

An important factor that accounts for the medicinal uses of Moringa oleifera is its very wide range of vital antioxidants, antibiotics and nutrients including vitamins and minerals. Leafy vegetables are important sources of provitamin A carotenoids.

Serum and livers were analysed for vitamin A using HPLC. Serum retinol concentrations did not differ among groups, but total liver vitamin A of the vitamin A and vegetable groups were higher than that of the negative control group (P < 0.0001).  Small quantities of these vegetables maintained vitamin A status in gerbils through efficient bioconversion of beta-carotene to retinol. It is therefore concluded that in the developing countries like India, sources of vitamin A such as drumstick leaves are valuable in overcoming the problem of vitamin A deficiency.

Antioxidants Properties:

Among the three different moringa samples, both methanol and ethanol extracts of Indian origins showed the highest antioxidant activities, 65.1 and 66.8%, respectively, in the beta-carotene-linoleic acid system. The antioxidant enzyme system get affected in postmenopause due to deficiency of estrogen, which has got antioxidant properties.

 The effect of supplementation of drumstick (DLP) and amaranth leaves powder (ALP) on blood levels of antioxidant and marker of oxidative stress were analyzed. The data revealed that supplementation of DLP and ALP significantly increased serum retinol (8.8 % and 5.0 %), serum ascorbic acid (44.4 % and 5.9 %), glutathione peroxidase (18.0 % and 11.9 %), superoxide dismutase (10.4 % and 10.8) whereas decrease in marker of oxidative stress i.e. malondialdehyde (16.3 % and 9.6 %) in postmenopausal women of group II and group III, respectively

Cataracts:

Although relatively high concentrations of beta-carotene and lutein have been reported in the leaves, the bioavailability of these carotenoids from this source is unknown. The major carotenoids identified by both methods were lutein, beta-carotene, violaxanthin, neoxanthin, and zeaxanthin.  Among the carotenoids identified, lutein and beta-carotene levels were found to be higher in these leafy vegetables. The relatively high bioaccessibility of beta-carotene and lutein from drumstick leaves ingested with oil supports the potential use of this plant food for improving vitamin A nutrition and perhaps delaying the onset of some degenerative diseases such as cataracts.

Nervous system:

MOE significantly promoted the earlier stages of neuronal differentiation. In addition, MOE supported neuronal survival by protecting neurons from naturally occurring cell death in vitro.Our findings indicate that MOE promotes axodendritic maturation as well as provides neuroprotection suggesting a promising pharmacological importance of this nutritionally and ethnomedically important plant for the well-being of nervous system

Cancer:

Esophageal cancer (EC) is commonly diagnosed in South Africa (SA), with high incidences occurring in SA's black population. The antiproliferative effect of MO crude aqueous leaf extract (MOE) on a cancerous esophageal cell line (SNO) was investigated and MOE possesses antiproliferative effects on SNO EC cells by increasing lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, and induction of apoptosis.

Food Processing:

The study established that fermentation processing methods increased the protein content, essential amino acid, and polyunsaturated fatty acid profiles, and reduced antinutrient compositions of M. oleifera seed than germination processing techniques; hence, fermentation techniques should be encouraged in processing moringa seeds in food processing.

 References:

The list of PMID

27283648

27283233

27461475

27074620

26787970

27459315

27468399

26297469

26274956

25979893

26104524

26187590

26130935

26032590

26057747

25808883

25995722

26015927

26557995

25793214

26396347

24706008

24935404

25150122

25076766

25049983

24206684

24389557

25374169

24799742

24804056

23962298

23043505

22522493

22207478

21537903

21901302

21786162

22101359

22224061

21780550

21344294

21118057

22471457

22016645

20412609

21039028

20161339

17651060

15826027

12769522

16167740

12841398

12670148

12801080

12747087

11213172

10945116

10520350

10890755