Medicinal and other uses and applications of M.oleifera

• Medicinal uses
  Almost all parts of the tree have been utilised within traditional medicine practices. For detailed listings those interested are directed towards the selected reading list. As interest in the medicinal properties of various parts of the tree has grown there has been an increase in the number of scientific studies that have been carried out to isolate active ingredients and determine mechanisms of action. Again those interested are directed towards the selected reading list for further information.

• Pulp and paper
  The wood provides a pulp that is considered suitable for newsprint, wrapping, printing and writing papers and for viscose rayon grade pulp for textiles and cellophane.

A more detailed list of other, lesser uses may be found in the articles by Booth and Wickens, 1988 and Morton, 1991.

Selected reading list

Booth, F.E.M. and Wickens,G.E. 1988, Non-timber uses of selected arid zone trees and shrubs in Africa, FAO, Rome, pp92-101.

Eilert,U., Wolters,B. and Nahrstedt,A. 1981, The antibiotic principle of seeds of Moringa oleifera and Moringa stenopetala. J.Medicinal Plant Res., 42 pp55-61.

Faizi,S., Siddiqui,B.S., Saleem,R., Siddiqui,S. and Aftab,K., 1994, Isolation and structure elucidation of new nitrile and mustard oil glycosides from Moringa oleifera and their effect on blood pressure. Journal of natural products, 57 (9),pp1256-1261.

Jahn,S.A.A. 1981. Traditional water purification in tropical developing countries: existing methods and potential applications. Manual No.117, Pub.: GTZ, Eschborn, Germany

Jahn,S.A.A. 1986, Proper use of African natural coagulants for rural water supplies. Manual No.191, Pub.: GTZ, Eschborn, Germany.

Jayavardhanan,K.K., Suresh,K., Panikkar,K.R. and Vasudevan,D.M., 1994, Modulatory potency of drumstick lectin on the host defense system. J.Exp.Clin.Cancer Res., 13 (3) pp205-209

Morton,J.F. 1991. The horseradish tree, Moringa pterygosperma (Moringaceae) - A boon to arid lands? Economic Botany 45 (3) pp318-333.

Pal,S.K., Mukherjee,P.K. and Saha,B.P., 1995, Studies on the antiulcer activity of Moringa oleifera leaf extract on gastric ulcer models in rats. Phytotherapy Research, 9, pp463-465.

Ram,J., 1994, Moringa a highly nutritious vegetable tree, Tropical Rural and Island/Atoll Development Experimental Station (TRIADES), Technical Bulletin No.2.

Ramachandran,C., Peter,K.V. and Gopalakrishnan,P.K., 1980, Drumstick (Moringa oleifera): A multipurpose Indian Vegetable. Economic Botany, 34 (3) pp276-283.

Rao Kurma,S. and Mishra,S.H., 1993, Drumstick polysaccharide as pharmaceutical adjuvant. Indian J. Nat.Prod., 9 (1) pp3-6.

Udupa, S.L., Udupa,A.L. and Kulkarni,D.R., 1994, Studies on the anti-inflammatory and wound healing properties of Moringa oleifera and Aegle marmelos. Fitoterapia, 65 (2), pp119-123.