M.oleifera as a vegetable crop

One of the most common vernacular names for M.oleifera is the horse-radish tree. This arose from the use of the root by Europeans in India as a substitute for horse- radish. Such a practice would not now be recommended as the root has been shown to contain 0.105% alkaloids, especially moriginine, and a bacteriocide, spirochin, both of which can prove fatal following ingestion. The leaves are widely used, particularly in India, the Philippines, Hawaii and parts of Africa, as a highly nutritious vegetable supplement. Analyses of the leaf composition have revealed them to have significant quantities of vitamins A, B and C, calcium, iron and protein. The leaves are considered to offer great potential for those who are nutritionally at risk and may be regarded as a protein and calcium supplement. The flowers, which must be cooked, are consumed either mixed with other foods or fried in batter and have been shown to be rich in potassium and calcium. The seeds are utilised in some regions of India either as a green 'pea', in their immature state, or fried, in their mature state, possessing a peanut like flavour.

The immature green pods are probably the most valued and widely used of all the tree parts. The pods are generally prepared in a similar fashion to green beans and have a slight asparagus taste. The pods are highly nutritious containing all the essential amino acids. Although primarily utilised world-wide by the Asian population as a vegetable, usage by other peoples is increasing. An international market already exists for both fresh and tinned pods. The photographs below show fresh pods imported to the UK from a variety of sources. The tinned pods were imported from India.

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Selected reading

Busson,F. 1965, Plantes alimentaires de l'Ouest Africain. Leconte, Marseille, France.

D'souza,J. and Kulkarni, A.R., 1993, Comparative studies on nutrtive values of tender foliage of seedlings and mature plants of Moringa oleifera Lam. J.Econ.Tax.Bot., 17 (2) pp479-485.

Jahn,S.A.A., 1989, Moringa oleifera for food and water purification - selection of clones and growing of annual short stem. Entwicklung + Landlicher Raum, 23 (4) pp22-25.

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

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.