Malunggay: The super-green supplement wonder

Malunggay- Moringa Oliefera

English Name: Horseradish tree, Ben Oil tree, Drumstick tree

Local name: Malunggay, Kamunggay, Kalamunggai, Molongai

Malunggay as this shrub is popularly known in the Philippines, is a popular vegetable additive for viands among Southeast-Asian and Indian geographies. Malunggay is widely acknowledged in the scientific community for having great nutritional as well as medicinal values.

In the Philippines, one can easily find this wonderful plant thriving in the wild and in almost every backyard. As it only requires low maintenance, this plant can grow accustomed with all types of soil. Almost all the parts of this plant is very useful- as flowers, leaves, fruit / pods and roots all have different health directives and benefits.

The benefits of Malunggay are centered around its leaves which have been found as a wonder supplement; being a rich resource for calcium, iron, vit c and phosphorus. A handful of this plant's leaves, thawed over low flame for a few seconds and applied on fresh cuts and wounds has already been practiced in most parts of the Visayas and Mindanao and is found to be an effective antiseptic and anti-inflammatory first aid. Its flowers contain anti-oxidant, anti- diabetic, and circulatory stimulating properties.

To get the most out of Malunggay, one can just simply:

• Simply eat the sumptous long time Visayan Recipies: Utan Bisaya (visayan vegetable soup) and Kinamunggayang Tinola (fish stew) where the leaves of this plant is one of the main ingredients.
• Take the supplement capsule that is now commercially available in the market.

Cebuano Herbsman