Moringa oleifera leaves are a rich source of antioxidants beneficial for the prevention of several chronic degenerative disorders.

Regular consumption of Moringa oleifera as Moringa health supplements can reduce the risks of cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes and also improve the immune system to fight off such common illness like the common colds, influenza and fatigue. Moringa oleifera leaves are a rich source of antioxidants. Many of the traditional uses of Moringa oleifera leaves to heal and prevent diseases are now being proven by scientific research. These researches are now proving that its wonderful healing and preventive benefits comes from its natural antioxidants and its antioxidant activity.

In the year 2003, a ¹team of researchers from Germany studied the antioxidant properties of Moringa oleifera leaves. In this study, different solvent extract of freeze-dried leaves of Moringa oleifera Lam from different regions were examined for radical scavenging capacities and antioxidant activities. The researchers concluded, from the results obtained, that Moringa oleifera leaves are potential source of natural antioxidants with the flavonoid groups quercetin and kaempferol being the major bioactive compounds of phenolics found in the leaves.

What is quercetin? It is a plant based flavonoid. Several laboratory studies showed that quercetin may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties with a wide range of potential health benefits including the potential to reduce the risk of certain cancers. However, the American Cancer Society have come out to say that while quercetin has been promoted as being effective against a wide variety of diseases, including cancer, and some laboratory studies appear promising, as of yet there is no reliable clinical evidence that quercetin can prevent or treat cancer in humans.

What is kaempferol? It is a natural flavonoid, a type of flavonoid that has been isolated from tea, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and apples. ²An 8 year study have found that three flavonoids (kaempferol, quercetin and myricetin) reduced the risk of pancreatic cancer by 23 percent. UCLA cancer researchers have found that study participants who ate foods containing certain flavonoids seemed to be protected from developing lung cancer. Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, of the UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and a professor of public health and epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health said the flavonoids that appeared to be the most protective included catechin in strawberries and green and black teas; kaempferol, found in brussels sprouts and apples; and quercetin, found in beans, onions and apples.

In the year 2005, a ³team of Pakistan researchers did a similar study on the antioxidant properties of Moringa oleifera leaves using a different medium and concluded that the antioxidant properties of Moringa oleifera leaves might be due to the presence of high amount of flavonoids, polyphenolics and tocopherol contents and might be a viable source of national antioxidants and nutraceuticals.

Finally, in a recent ⁴study done in 2009 and published in 2010, a team of Indian researchers from the Department of Foods and Nutrition (A WHO Collaborating Center for Health Promotion) and the Department of Botany, The Maharaja SayajiRao University of Baroda, India studied the impact of antioxidants from the Moringa oleifera leaves on lipids of hyperlipidemics using dehydrated Moringa oleifera leaf tablets on hyperlipidemic (human) subjects. In the study, general information, personal habits, medical history, 24-h dietary recall, anthropometric measurements like height, weight, waist, hip, BMI and waist to hip ratio were recorded at baseline and compared at the end of the study. The results, at the end of the study, showed that the group that had the dried Moringa oleifera leaf tablets supplementation had an overall positive impact on their lipid profile with reduction in the non-HDL values.

Mr. Sanford Holst, an author, labelled Moringa oleifera “Nature’s Medicine Cabinet” and he is not wrong in his believe.



References:

¹ Siddhuraju Perumal P., Becker Klaus K.; Antioixdant properties of various solvent extracts of total phenolic constituents from three different agroclimatic origins of drumstick tree (Moringa oleifera Lam.) leaves; J. Agric Food Chem, 2003, Apr:51 (8): 2144-55

² Ute Nöthlings, Suzanne P. Murphy, Lynne R. Wilkens, Brian E. Henderson and Laurence N. Kolone, 2007, Flavonoids and Pancreatic Cancer Risk; American Journal of Epidemiology 166(8): 924-931

³ Asma Siddig, Farooq Anwar, Maleeha Manzoor and Ammara Fatima; Antioxidant Activity of Different Solvent Extracts of Moringa oleifera Leaves under Accelerated Storage of Sunflower Oil; Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 4 (6):630-635, 2005

⁴ Vanisha S Nambiar,Parul Guin, Shilpa Parnami, Mammen Daniel; Impact of antioxidants from the Drumstick leaves on the lipid profile of Hyperlipidemics; Journal of Herbal Medicine and Toxicology, 4 (1):165-172 (2010)

Consumption of Moringa oleifera can help to prevent hypertension, diabetes and expel tapeworms.

Mr. Lowell J. Fuglie, uses the Moringa oleifera tree in his work in Africa to fight malnutrition by using Moringa oleifera leaves, noted that the regular consumption of Moringa dried leaf powder not only helped to counter malnutrition but had unexpected benefits that included an apparent cure for tapeworms and help in controlling diabetes and blood pressure. Regular consumption of Moringa health supplements is beneficial for good health.

What Mr. Lowell J. Fuglie noted from his work in Africa is not at all surprising as:

·       ¹ In India, the juice from the Moringa oleifera leaves is used to stabilise blood pressure and to treat anxiety by traditional medicine practitioners;

·       ¹ In Senegal, an infusion of Moringa oleifera leaf juice is commonly used to control glucose levels in cases of diabetes; and

·       ¹ In Malaysia, it has been reported that traditional healers sometimes applied a Moringa oleifera leaf poultice to the abdomen to expel intestinal worms.

Herbs and plants have been used as sources of medicine throughout human history and it is still widely used today and often together with modern day medicine. Slowly western trained doctors are beginning to accept that herbs and plants can contribute to the overall wellness of the human body thanks to the increase in researches conducted by many universities to proof or defunct such traditional medicinal claims.

Researchers from Japan have now proven that Moringa oleifera can control blood pressure and published their research papers in the ²Journal of the Japanese Society for Food and Technology in April, 2008. The researchers studied the antihypertensive effect of Moringa oleifera leaves on hypertensive rats and found significant reduction in systolic blood pressure when Moringa oleifera leaves were consumed over a period of six weeks. They concluded that the daily consumption of Moringa oleifera leaves was effective for the prevention against hypertension.

As for diabetes, researchers from the ³University of Allahabad, India studied the effect of Moringa oleifera leaves on hyperglycaemic rats and found significant reduction in blood glucose levels as well as reduction in urine sugar and urine protein levels of hyperglycaemic rats that consumed Moringa oleifera leaves. They concluded that Moringa oleifera can be used as an ethnomedicine (traditional medicine) to treat diabetes.

In another diabetes study, ⁴Philippine researchers studied the effect of taking Moringa oleifera leaves prepared as tea on blood sugar levels in humans. They tested two groups of volunteers, people with normal fasting blood sugar levels (60-120 mg/dl) and those with hyperglycaemic fasting blood sugar levels (>120 mg/dl). The test results showed that blood sugar levels of those in the normal group were not significantly changed 2 hours after taking the tea. However, those in the hyperglycaemic group blood sugar levels showed a significant drop (a mean drop of 28.15 mg/dl) after 2 hours.

Mr. Lowell J. Fuglie calls the Moringa oleifera tree the “Miracle Tree” and he is not very far from the truth. Moringa oleifera can really help those of us with cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes.


Reference:
 ¹ The Miracle Tree – The multiple attributes of Moringa, CWS, Dakar, Senegal, 2001
² Kajihara R.(Hiroshima-ken, Technology Research Inst. (Japan), Food Technology Research Center), Nakatsu S, Shiono T., Shibata K., Ishihara M., Sakamoto K., Muto N.; Journal of the Japanese Society for Food Science and Technology; April, 2008.
³ Jaiswal, D., et al., Effect of Moringa oleifera Lam. Leaves aqueous extract therapy on hyperglycaemic rats, J. Ethnopharmacology, (2009), doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.03.036
⁴ Michael Piles, and Howell Ho, Comparative Effects of Moringa Oleifera Lam. Tea on Normal and Hyperglycemic Patients, eHealth International Journal, Vol.5, No.1, pp30-34, March 2009.



Dried Moringa oleifera leaves



Science has confirmed that consumption of Moringa oleifera leaves can help reduce cholesterol.

For many years, in India, the leaves of the Moringa oleifera tree were used as an herbal remedy to help reduce cholesterol with great success by traditional medicine practitioners. This wonderful remedy would have simply remained just an unproven herbal remedy if not for the great interest in Moringa oleifera tree generated by its rediscovery by those NGOs in their fight to eradicate malnutrition in Africa.

With the growing interest in the tree, there are now many independent universities conducting scientific research on the many herbal remedies of Moringa oleifera. Consumption of Moringa oleifera leaves as Moringa health supplements can help reduce cholesterol. Now, we have scientific evidence to show that the leaves of the Moringa oleifera leaves can really reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. Although these studies are conducted in vitro and in vivo at university laboratories, they are conducted independently (that is not paid by interest groups) and are published in respected scientific journals.

In one study published in the ¹Journal of Ethnopharmacology in year 2000, the crude leaf extract of Moringa oleifera was administered to rats fed with a high fat diet. In this study, it was found that Moringa oleifera leaf extract decreases the high fat diet induced cholesterol in the rats’ serum, liver and kidney by significant amounts as much as 14.4% for serum, 6.4% for liver and 11.1% for kidney respectively.  This research concluded that the leaves of Moringa oleifera have hypocholesterolemic (low cholesterol) activity and supports the traditional use of the Moringa oleifera leaves for treating cholesterol.

In another study published in the ²Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences in year 2008, the research work compared the effects of Moringa oleifera leaves extract with the commercial drug Atenolol on serum triglyceride and cholesterol, blood glucose, heart weight and body weight in adrenaline induced rats. The study shows that Moringa oleifera leaves has profound hypolipidemic (low lipid) activity significantly lowering of blood glucose, heart weight and body weight. The researchers concluded that Moringa oleifera may be used as herbal drugs or as health supplement in the treatment of different cardiovascular complications due to high lipids in the body.

Moringa oleifera is truly a “miracle tree” and if you have the opportunity to plant it in your garden then I strongly urge you to do so and to include the leaves at as many meals that you are able to.


Reference:
¹  S. Ghasi, E. Nwobodo, J.O. Ofili; Hypocholesterolemic effects of crude extract of leaf of Moringa oleifera Lam in high-fat diet fed wistar rats, Journal of Ethnopharmacology 69, 2000, 21-25.

²  Naznin Ara, Mamunur Rashid 1 and Md. Shah Amran; Comparision of Moringa oleifera leaves extract with Atenolol on Serum triglyceride, Serum cholesterol, Blood glucose, heart weight, body weight in Adrenaline Induced rats; Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences 15(2) 253-258 December, 2008.

Moringa oleifera's impact on people's life in the developing world is nothing short of miraculous.

It is not an overstatement for me when I say that Moringa oleifera’s has a very strong impact on people's life and in some cases can make a difference between life and death. In developing countries where western medicine is not readily available plants like Moringa oleifera are important substitute to maintaining good health and provide cures for many illnesses and diseases.

Thanks to the many dedicated people and Non Government Organisations (NGOs) who had discovered the many wonderful benefits and properties of Moringa oleifera, this tree is now the subject of many researches and studies by numerous universities and interest groups.

Being a generally cautious person, I was finally convinced of the health benefits of Moringa oleifera by the work that had been done, and is still being carried out, by those dedicated professionals and NGOs who used the tree to improve the health of so many people in third world countries. I am also very pleased and gratified to know that many universities and interest groups have independently done scientific researches on the tree and those results have supported many of the health claims about the tree. It is also important to note that researchers have found that the leaves, flowers, pods and seeds are safe for consumption.

The greatest difference between Moringa oleifera and other plants with medicinal properties are its outstanding abilities to have an impact on many different health problems whereas other medicinal plants tend to have impact on perhaps one or two health problems. Another difference between Moringa oleifera and other medicinal plants is that its edible parts have no toxicity and can be consumed in any quantity whereas in many other medicinal plants this is not the same.

It is sometimes difficult to see the things that are staring at you in front of your face. Moringa oleifera is just one of those things. This tree has been with us for thousands of years with its origins native to Northern India that has spread all over the tropical world to Africa, South East Asia and Central America and has been eaten as normal vegetable and also used in many traditional remedies to heal many diseases with great success without danger and yet is not readily acceptable to many first world countries because of lacking human clinical trials to prove its safety and efficacy even though many independent in vivo and in vitro scientific research have shown that it is safe to consume and supports the many health claims by traditional medicinal practitioners.

Moringa oleifera has all 8 essential amino acids as well as Arginine and Histidine

Moringa oleifera possesses so many valuable properties it is now of great scientific interest to researches and humanitarian groups. It is a plant that amazingly has all the three basic ingredients that are very important to good health, that is, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Moringa oleifera as Moringa health supplements is truly a 3-in-1 natural multivitamin source that has its vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids naturally balanced by Mother Nature.

In my previous blogs, I explained and described the functions and importance of each of the vitamins and minerals found in Moringa oleifera. Let us now examine the ten amino acids found in Moringa oleifera.

TRYPTOPHAN (Essential Amino Acid): Tryptophan is a natural relaxant. It helps to alleviate insomnia by inducing normal sleep, reduces anxiety and depression. Tryptophan also helps in the treatment of migraine headaches and helps the immune system. It helps reduce the risk of artery and heart spasms and works with Lysine in reducing cholesterol levels.

LYSINE (Essential Amino Acid): Lysine insures the adequate absorption of calcium, helps form collagen (which makes up bone cartilage and connective tissues), aids in the production of antibodies, hormones and enzymes. Recent studies have shown that Lysine may be effective against Herpes by improving the balance of nutrients that reduce viral growth. A deficiency of Lysine may result in tiredness, inability to concentrate, irritability, bloodshot eyes, retarded growth, hair loss, anaemia and reproductive problems.

METHIONINE (Essential Amino Acid): Methionine is a principle supplier of sulphur which prevents disorders of the hair, skin and nails. It also helps lower cholesterol levels by increasing the liver's production of lecithin, reduces liver fat and protects the kidneys. It is a natural chelating agent for heavy metals, regulates the formation of ammonia and creates ammonia-free urine which reduces bladder irritation. It influences hair follicles and promotes hair growth.

PHENYLALANINE (Essential Amino Acid): Phenylalanine is use by the brain to produce Nor epinephrine, a chemical that transmits signals between nerve cells and the brain. It keeps you awake and alert, reduces hunger pains, functions as an antidepressant and helps improve memory.

THREONINE (Essential Amino Acid): Threonine is an important constituent of collagen, elastin and enamel protein. It helps prevents fat build-up in the liver and helps the digestive and intestinal tracts function more smoothly, assists metabolism and assimilation.

VALINE (Essential Amino Acid): Valine promotes mental vigour, muscle coordination and calm emotions.

LEUCINE & ISOLEUCINE (Essential Amino Acids): These two amino acids provide ingredients for the manufacturing of other essential biochemical components in the body, some of which are utilized for the production of energy, stimulants to the upper brain and helping you to be more alert.

HISTIDINE (Non-Essential Amino Acid): Histidine is found abundantly in haemoglobin. It has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, allergic diseases, ulcers and anaemia. A deficiency can cause poor hearing.

ARGININE (Non-Essential Amino Acid): Studies have shown that Arginine can improve immune responses to bacteria, viruses and tumour cells. It promotes wound healing and regeneration of the liver, causes the release of growth hormones, and is considered crucial for optimal muscle growth and tissue repair.

Conclusion: As you can see, Amino acids are so important to the good health and well-being of the human body that everyone will benefit from some form of amino acid supplementation. This is especially so for the essential amino acids which are indispensable and are not manufactured by the body and need to be consumed from other food sources.

Moringa oleifera a plant base source of essential amino acids.

Proteins (chain of amino acids) are complex organic compounds. While most amino acids can be synthesised by the human body from the food we consume, the essential amino acids have to be consumed from external sources.

There are two classifications for Protein containing food. The classifications are complete or incomplete and are in accordance to whether the food has all the eight (8) essential amino acids or some of the essential amino acids. Unfortunately, most of the complete protein containing foods are animal based such as, meat, eggs, milk, poultry and, as we now know from scientific researches, too much consumption of meat products can contribute to many health problems such as cholesterol, hypertension, gout and so on. The other alternative is to consume soybean, the only know protein complete plant base food or to consume a combined diet of a number of incomplete plant based protein food such as beans, rice, and corn and so on.

Although soybean is a good source of complete protein, Moringa oleifera has higher content of essential amino acids. Regular consumption of Moringa health supplements will certainly help to keep the body's immune system in good form and efficient.

The table below shows the value of amino acids in 100gm of raw mature soybean seeds and in 100gm of fresh Moringa oleifera leaves:

Descriptions	Type of Amino acids	Soybean	Moringa oleifera
Arginine	Amino acids	3.2g	6.0g
Histidine	Amino acids	1.1g	2.1g
Lysine	Essential Amino acids	2.7g	4.3g
Trytophan	Essential Amino acids	0.6g	1.9g
Phenylanaline	Essential Amino acids	2.1g	6.4g
Methionine	Essential Amino acids	0.5g	2.0g
Threonine	Essential Amino acids	1.8g	4.9g
Leucine	Essential Amino acids	3.3g	9.3g
Isoleucine	Essential Amino acids	2.0g	6.3g
Valine	Essential Amino acids	2.0g	7.1g

Human beings tend to be lazy and are always looking for quick and easy ways to accomplish things. Consuming soybeans for its essential amino acids requires substantial efforts as soybean needs to be cooked before it can be consumed. With Moringa oleifera, you can actually consume it raw and fresh. It is as simple as eating it like a salad or if you have access to its dried leaf powder, it can be simply sprinkled over the food before consuming the food or in capsule form.

 Moringa oleifera leaves can be eaten raw. It is a little "spicey" and is best eaten raw with other salad leaves and some dressing such as Italian dressing.

Moringa dried leaf powder can be sprinkled over any food before it is consumed to enjoy the benefits of its rich source of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The powder can also be made into a dip as a side-dish or even be capsulised to be taken as a health supplement.

Moringa oleifera is a superb source of Essential Amino Acids...

Moringa oleifera is a wonderful source of not just one or two missing essential amino acids. It is, in fact, the only currently known plant base source that has all 8 essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesise and have to be obtained from diet.

Taking Moringa health supplements will insure that the human body gets all the essential amino acids from one source rather than getting these from many food sources.

Amino acids are proteins and every cell in the human body contains protein which are found in body fluids, muscles, organs and skin.

Amino acids are particularly important to life and have many functions in metabolism. Unfortunately, many of us are more familiar with the importance of vitamins and minerals that we forget about the importance of amino acids to maintaining good health.

Each amino acid has its own functions and benefits, such as, improve muscle development, increase metabolism, help resists allergic reactions, and so on. Amino acids are the building block from which proteins are made. To-date, there are some 22 amino acids, with each having its own unique characteristics that is capable of being fitted together into an almost limitless variety of proteins.

Amino acids have a direct interaction with vitamins and minerals. Amino acids enable vitamins and minerals to perform their specific jobs in the body properly. Even if the body absorbs vitamins and minerals, they cannot be effective unless the necessary amino acids are present.

Essential and Non-Essential Amino Acids
Amino acids are categorized as either "essential (indispensable)" or "non-essential." When protein is broken down by digestion the result is 22 known amino acids. Eight (8) are essential (cannot be manufactured by the body) the rest are non-essential (can be manufactured by the body with proper nutrition).

Conclusion

Amino acids are so important to the health and well-being of the body that everyone will benefit from some form of amino acid supplementation. This is especially so with suplementation of the essential amino acids which are not manufactured by the body.