Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

If United States has apple to keep the doctors away, here in the Philippines, it’s the common
malunggay.

Touted by scientists as “miracle vegetable,” malunggay has been promoted by the World Health
Organization (WHO) for the past 20 years as a low-cost health enhancer in poor countries around
the globe.

Malunggay trees are generally grown in the backyards. The small, oval, dark-green leaves are
famous vegetable ingredient in soup, fish and chicken dishes. Scientifically, it is called ‘Moringa
oelifera.’ Despite its legendary potentials, malunggay is still relatively unknown.

“The sale of all forms of vitamins, minerals, and health supplements is a big business,” points out
Moringa Zinga, an American company that promotes and sells malunggay products in capsules.
“If you are a company selling hundreds of nutritional products, why would you sell a product
that will wipe out all your other products? This is true for the pharmaceutical industries as well.
These industries would rather that the general public remains ignorant about the moringa
leaves.”

According to the Biotechnology Program Office of the Department of Agriculture, the malunggay
has been found by biochemists and molecular anthropologists to be rich in vitamins C and A,
iron, and high-density lipoprotein or good cholesterol.

Due to its high calcium content (four times the calcium in milk), lactating mothers in the
Philippines are often advised to consume malunggay leaves to produce more milk for their
babies. The young malunggay leaves are being boiled and drink as tea.
Malunggay leaves are loaded with nutrients. Gram for gram, malunggay leaves also contain two
times the protein in milk. Likewise, it contains three times the potassium in bananas and four
times the vitamin A in carrots.

Health nutritionists claim that an ounce of malunggay has the same Vitamin C content as seven
oranges. An important function of vitamin C not known to many is its being an antioxidant. In
fact, it has been recognized and accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration as one of the
four dietary antioxidants, the others being vitamin E, beta-carotene and selenium. (A dietary
oxidant is a substance in food that significantly decreases the adverse effects of harmful
chemicals.)

There are more health benefits. Vivencio Mamaril, of Bureau of Plant Industry, told a national
daily that in India, malunggay is used in treating various ailments. A 2001 study in India has
found that the fresh root of the young tree can be used to treat a fever. Asthmatics are advised
to drink the infusion from the roots of the plant.

Tender malunggay leaves also reduce phlegm and are administered internally for scurvy and
catarrhal conditions, while the flowers are used to heal inflammation of the tendons and
abscesses. Unripe pods of malunggay can prevent intestinal worms, while the fruit also prevents
eye disorders.

Other studies have shown that eating malunggay fruits can lead to higher semen count. This is
good news for men who may not be able to sire children. They can now count on the malunggay
to work its magic on them.

Because of its nutritional content, malunggay strengthens the immune system, restores skin
condition, controls blood pressure, relieves headaches and migraines, manages the sugar level
thereby preventing diabetes, reduces inflammations and arthritis pains, restricts the growth of
tumors, and heals ulcers. This information comes from Dr. Kumar Pati, an Indian doctor who is an
expert in natural medicine.

The “next big thing” in Philippine agriculture. That is how the agriculture department considers
malunggay. “Malunggay can save lives, increase incomes, generate millions of jobs, utilize vast
tracts of idle agricultural lands, make the Philippines globally competitive, impact local and
international market, and help attain socio-economic equity,” explained Alice Ilaga, director of
the DA’s Biotechnology Program.

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