The most interesting tree in the world, the Moringa

What is Moringa Oleifera?

        Some call it “The tree of life” or “ A Miracle Tree” or even  “A Never die tree”. Moringa is just a plant which grows easily in pots or ground. not fussy with soil and doesn’t need much care. A fast-growing, drought-resistant tree that takes care of  itself independently.

        If you google the internet, it says the tree originates from India. This tree has been in our planet for decades and suddenly about 2-3 years ago they sprung to the world's attention. Many wants to know about the tree.  Research scientists delved into this tree; the media went crazy in publishing articles and discussing it, via TV news all over the world.  It’s just a simple tree that has been growing and used in certain places for centuries, but why has it suddenly become so famous. Many started writing about this tree. Moringas do have 3 benefits according to some reports on Agricultural , Industrial and Medicinal benefits. The research scientifically is ongoing. The leaves are eaten as vegetables known as super food while the seeds are believed to purify water as well as detoxify the human body.

 I happened to come across  a website by "Celim", a  Non-government Organization. Their project manager Federico Gazzoli wrote about Moringa: between environment and nutrition. I was so glad I saw this article. It shows how nutritious Moringa leaves are and how those malnourished children benefited from these miracle trees especially those suffering from rickets and underweight. 

Drumsticks ...seeds inside the pod.

Some claimed the whole plant is edible from roots to leaves including the seeds except the bark of course are used to make bags and other stuff, but there were also some (webmed) that say the roots may be toxic. Which is which, we don't know. It maybe ok for me but that doesn't mean it's ok for another person.

In the literature of the guardian.com,(2013-2018) it says that UN world Food Program named it as "Crop of the month" and experimented on malnourished children in certain part of Africa. Some journals even think that Moringa has a lot of  nutrients and also help to control certain illness such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, constipation, cancer and many more. 

The leaves has:   

4 X calcium as in Milk

7 X Vit C of oranges
4 X Vit A of Carrots

3 X Potassium of Bananas

2 X Protein of  Yogurt 

3-4 X  Iron of Spinach

            

Some reports say Moringa trees help in the fight against soil erosion.         

I only learnt about this tree, when a friend gave me one in January 2019, together with a plant of passion fruit. She had this tree in the pot for a few years until a heavy downpour and wind blew off the pot and broke it apart. She cut off the whole tree leaving only 3 feet of the trunk and roots with soil intact. I transported the tree in a plastic bag in my little car😂 and planted it right away in my raised bed in front of my little garden. 

The tree started to produce more branches and leaves and growing as tall as the height of my little garden house within a year.

On the New Year of  2020, I pruned the tree and replanted another few trees from the chopped branches at the area where soil erosion is frequent.

Monthly pruning is advisable, to keep the trees in control.

 Little leaves sprout out from the branch and trunk within the 2nd week of planting.

After 4 yrs, this is how they looked like. So pretty and makes my garden cooler under such humid climate here. Regular pruning of the tree, also known as pollarding, not only keep it short but also help to make the tree bushy. 

I plucked some young leaves for a friend of mine to try for the 1st time. She stir_fried the leaves with garlic.  She said it was so delicious that she finished it all without sharing with anyone in the family 😂. But she also commented the leaves seemed to have some degree of laxative effect. I guessed the leaves and the seeds has the same effect and that's to detoxify. 

Ingredients for Stir-fried Moringa leaves:

Young Moringa leaves. 

1egg.

2-3 garlic. 

Seasoning according to your taste. 

Stir-fried Moringa leaves:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil. 

Saute the chopped garlic, 

Add Moringa leaves, 

Stir fry for a few seconds 

Add seasoning. 

And lastly the beaten egg. 

Stir fry for a minute. 

Serve with hot rice😁. 

One day, as I was window shopping at a "Guardian" shop here in my hometown, I happened to see a few bottles of Moringa powder on display with the price of  RM45 each! 

On the container, it says product of India. It also mentioned a bit of its benefit:  the leaves help our body to maintain it's optimum health and balance. It also mentioned the leaves contain over 90 nutrients, 46 antioxidants, 20 kinds of amino acids, potassium, calcium, iron and more. 

In UK it would cost about 40 pounds ( about 200 Ringgits) per kg. 

I was curious how this Moringa powder would taste like, yet I am not keen to "depart" my money on something I don't know. But since I have the tree, and time, I decided to do an experiment on it. Why not? I have nothing to lose.😜. Well, I successfully did it and proud of what I can produce, superfood! 😂

After I pruned the trees, I took the leaves and arranged them in stacks.
This was my trial and error experiment to make Moringa Leaves into food supplements powder for the first time.

1 week air-dried Moringa leaves 

After rinsing them clean with water, they were left to dry for at least 5 days in a shaded area, as it is believed that high heat and strong sunlight will kill the nutrients.

Dried leaves ready to be grind into powder

Coffee Grinder machine or any grinder will do the job.

short video of sieving blended Moringa leaves into finer powder

End product of a sieved powder

Stored in air tight containers for later use

I  used 1/2 to 1 teaspoonful daily into any food I want to consume. 

It can be added into oat meals at breakfast, soup at lunch or curry at dinner, anything including coffee or tea.  I found that moringa powder doesn't dissolve easily in cold drinks: The powder will float on top of cold drinks.

I have read that those with diabetic or on hypertension medication need to take it with caution. It seems Moringa may reduced blood pressure and blood sugar levels so to speak. For this, I can't test any further because I am neither diabetic or hypertensive .😅

Tea with Moringa leaves:

A handful dried Moringa leaves.
Add boiling water.

Let it brew for a while. 

Tea is ready!

It has a pleasant taste like "nuts". 

Do send me a comment here if you have tasted Moringa Tea too, to see if there is any differences. 

Ornamental trees

In August 2020. I tried to plant these trees in pots.

 Potted Moringa trees behind my garden chair .
They were amazingly beautiful too as ornamental trees in pots.👍

Reference

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2018/jan/07/is-moringa-really-a-miracle-tree-superfood

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-benefits-of-moringa-oleifera

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319916.php#what-are-the-studies-saying

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/moringa-oleifera
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moringa_oleifera.
https://www.celim.it/en/progetto/moringa-between-environment-and-nutrition/.

Moringa : between environment and nutrition