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)
