The
Moringa Oleifera tree can reach 7 meters in height and has an erect and
branched trunk at the base, soft and spongy with pendulous, thin and
intertwined branches. The robust leaves are multi-compound, light green
below, pale green above.
The
roots have a strong smell and taste of radish (hence its other name
horseradish tree or Radish Tree). The creamy white flowers are small and
numerous and highly ornamental. The fruits they are large,
triangular-section pods, green and soft if immature, ocher and brown
when ripe.
The
incredible thing is that practically the whole plant is edible: the
leaves are very rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals, they have a
slightly spicy taste. They are often made in salads, but can be cooked
like spinach. They contain 25 percent by weight of proteins (more than
eggs and double that of cow's milk), four times the vitamin A of
carrots, almost eight times the vitamin C of oranges, three times the
potassium of bananas.
This
protein contribution suggests that it can be a useful support for
pregnant women and for human breastfeeding in conditions of poverty and
difficulty. As for the fruits, the most popular and frequent use is the
preparation by boiling the immature pods (called "drum sticks") whose
flavor is very similar to that of asparagus.
In
Siddha medicine they are considered to be powerful aphrodisiacs. The
seeds come boiled or toasted and they taste like chickpeas. The
extraction of oil from seeds is a very important resource: the seeds
contain from 30 to 50% of oil (olives from 8 to 20%). The extracted oil
contains 65 to 76% oleic acid which is the same unsaturated oil as
olives. The oil is sweet and tasty and does not go rancid. It is
perfectly suitable for human nutrition.
Extracted
the oil from the seeds, the residual pasta contains 60% of valuable
proteins. This is an enormous quantity if we consider that the residue
of the analogous treatment of soy (a product of good vegetable protein
quality) produces from 30 to 35% of proteins, whose range of amino
acids, as for the great majority of the other known vegetables, it is
incomplete. The proteins obtained from the residual pasta are suitable
for human nutrition.
The
roots are also edible and as mentioned their flavor is similar to that
of radish. The spicy aroma of the roots is more pronounced than that of
the leaves. The common use of the roots is that of flavoring, (analogous
to horseradish), but, due to the presence of an alkaloid (the
spiroquine) that would interfere with nerve transmission, it is not
recommended to use it in excessive quantities.
The
flowers are also edible, as a rule they are prepared in salads. Moringa
is also a melliferous plant and therefore honey can be produced from
its flowers. It is of great importance that the protein content of the
parts of the plant is complete, (ie it contains the whole range of amino
acids, even the valuable ones). This fact is almost unique among plants
and Moringa oleifera can be defined as the only existing plant (known
to date) with these characteristics.
Moringa
Oleifera resists drought and can grow in a wide variety of soils, even
poor ones and on sterile soil; in soils of good fertility and moderately
irrigated it can have a remarkable growth. It has no soil preferences
regarding Ph (acidic or alkaline soils) going from pH 4.5 to 9.0; it
develops and can bear fruit in the first year of planting with abundant
leaf growth. The plant absolutely needs well-drained soil, it does not
tolerate flooded or asphyxiated soils. Exposure must be in sun or
partial shade. Watering must be regular in the first year, then more
spaced, but paying attention to stagnations that could cause the roots
to rot.
Winter stratification is recommended but not necessary for sowing.