More studies are validating the status of Moringa oleifera as 'miracle and cure all tree.'

THE American Chemical Society (ACS) has joined the list of organisations validating the efficacy of Moringa oleifera as a cheap and sustainable product for purifying drinking water, and tackling malnutrition, communicable and non-communicable diseases in developing nations.
Until now, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have promoted moringa leaf for years as an inexpensive health booster for poor countries, especially in addressing malnutrition.

Commonly known in the English language as the ben oil tree, the horseradish tree, or the drumstick tree, Moringa oleifera belongs to the plant family Moringaceae.
In Nigeria, it is called Ewe ile, Ewe igbale, or Idagbo monoye (the tree which grows crazily) in Yoruba; Gawara, Habiwal hausa, Konamarade, or Rini maka in Fulani; Bagaruwar maka, Bagaruwar masar, Barambo, Koraukin zaila, Shipka hali, Shuka halinka, Rimin nacara, Rimin turawa, Zogall, or Zogalla-gandi in Hausa; and Odudu oyibo, Okochi egbu, Okwe olu, Okwe oyibo, Okughara ite, Uhe, Ikwe beke in Ibo.

The latest episode in the ACS award-winning "Global challenges/chemistry colutions" podcast series describes how the seeds of the "miracle tree" can be used to produce clean drinking water. The research appears in ACS' journal Langmuir.

The new water-treatment process requiring only tree seeds and sand could purify and clarify water inexpensively and sustainably in the developing world, where more than one billion people lack access to clean drinking water, scientists report.

Removing the disease-causing microbes and sediment from drinking water requires technology not always available in rural areas of developing countries. For an alternative approach, scientists looked to Moringa oleifera, also called the "miracle tree," a plant grown in equatorial regions for food, traditional medicine and biofuel.

In the podcast, Dr. Stephanie B. Velegol, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University, explains that past research showed that a protein in Moringa seeds could clean water. One approach creates water that cannot be stored, and the other approach is too expensive and complicated. The researchers wanted to develop a simpler and less expensive way to harness the seeds' power.
To do that, they added an extract of the seed containing the positively charged Moringa protein (which binds to sediment and kills microbes) to negatively charged sand. The resulting "functionalised," or "f-sand," proved effective in capturing lab-grown Escherichia coli and damaging their membranes. The f-sand was also able to remove sediment from water samples. The results open the possibility that f-sand can provide a simple, locally sustainable process for producing storable drinking water, Velegol says.

Meanwhile, recent studies have uncovered how Moringa tea could be used by midwives to increase breast milk production in lactating mothers. According to an Agriculture Business Week news article, Moringa leaf has been promoted by the WHO for years as an inexpensive health booster for poor countries.

The United States Department of Agriculture recognises Moringa leaf for its high vitamin A, C, iron, and High Density Lipo-protein (HDL) "good" cholesterol levels. The herb has been scientifically proven as an anti-bacterial agent, and as a way to improve glucose tolerance in diabetic rats. Moringa root bark has been clinically demonstrated to be an effective treatment for post-menopausal ovarian cancer, but should not be used by women of childbearing age.

Also, there is promising potential for both water- and alcohol-based Moringa leaf tinctures to fight a variety of bacterial infections, according to a 2011 clinical study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine.

In this study, scientists soaked paper discs with several strengths of Moringa leaf extract. While the Moringa leaf tinctures could not kill Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, and Pseudonomas aeruginosa, moringa was found to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Aeromonas cavaie, and Enterococcus faecalis.

According to another study, Moringa leaf may improve glucose tolerance in diabetics based on a clinical study involving rats. In a 2006 study performed at Tokyo University of Agriculture, Moringa was fed to rats with diabetes in order to determine the effects of moringa leaf powder on glucose tolerance.

The researchers noted "major" amounts of polyphenols in Moringa, especially quercitin and rutin. After ingesting Moringa powder, the rats showed a significant reduction in their blood glucose levels as compared to the control groups during a glucose tolerance test."

The scientists concluded that Moringa did have a positive effect on lowering glucose levels.
They believe this is because of the quercitin content in moringa. While insulin levels were not monitored in this study, the researchers remarked that Moringa leaf might have a positive effect on insulin secretion and action.

Also, Moringa root bark has been shown to kill ovarian cancer cells due to unique phytochemicals. Medscape General Medicine reported a study involving Moringa root's effectiveness against post-menopausal epithelial ovarian cancer. This cancer is caused by a combination of failing ovaries and an over-productive pituitary gland. The only herb, which has been clinically demonstrated to have a positive effect on female reproductive system cancer is Moringa oleifera, because it has both female hormonal and anti-tumour properties.

A review by U.S. researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences; and Cullman Cancer Chemoprotection Centre, Baltimore, Maryland noted: "This tree has in recent times been advocated as an outstanding indigenous source of highly digestible protein, Ca, Fe, Vitamin C, and carotenoids suitable for utilisation in many of the so-called "developing" regions of the world where "undernourishment is a major concern."

The study published in Trees for Life Journal is titled: "Moringa oleifera: A review of the medical evidence for its nutritional, therapeutic, and prophylactic properties. Part 1."

According to the review, Moringa trees have been used to combat malnutrition, especially among infants and nursing mothers. Three non-governmental organisations in particular - Trees for Life, Church World Service and Educational Concerns for Hunger Organisation - have advocated Moringa as "natural nutrition for the tropics." Its leaves can be eaten fresh, cooked, or stored as dried powder for many months without refrigeration, and reportedly without loss of nutritional value. Moringa is especially promising as a food source in the tropics because the tree is in full leaf at the end of the dry season when other foods are typically scarce.

The benefits for the treatment or prevention of disease or infection that may accrue from either dietary or topical administration of Moringa preparations (example extracts, decoctions, poultices, creams, oils, emollients, salves, powders, porridges) are not quite so well known.
Moringa preparations have been cited in the scientific literature as having antibiotic, antitrypanosomal, hypotensive, antispasmodic, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, hypo-cholesterolemic, and hypoglycemic activities, as well as having considerable efficacy in water purification by flocculation, sedimentation, antibiosis and even reduction of Schistosome cercariae titer.

Scientists chose to test Moringa root bark because it contains two more alkaloid chemicals than does the rest of the plant. The researchers in this study believe it is these chemicals in the Moringa root bark, which affect sex hormones. Traditional herbal medicine bears this belief out.
"Moringa root bark is not a "female tonic" herb. It should not be taken by women during their childbearing years, because it is an abortifacicant. The plant chemicals in Moringa root cause the fertilized egg not to be able to attach to the lining of the uterine wall. Traditional literature indicates that Moringa root was used as a permanent form of birth control. Moringa root bark can cause violent and potentially fatal uterine contractions. However, Moringa leaf is a wonderful herb to help breastfeeding mothers produce more milk for their babies."


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Source: Odili.net.


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