I have recently been talked to by a person selling Zija. Which made me do some research on the Moringa Oleifera. I stumbled on the other post on this topic and read it and it is now inactive so i had a few questions of my own, not pertaining to Zija please, only the Moringa Oleifera. In the other post the only person that I saw giving decent posts was paperbackwriter, but I thought it was worth a try. Since my friend said that this cite has helped them greatly.
Question 1: There has been many positive research reports on the Moringa Oleifera, from organizations such as Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, and the national institutes of health. But to my knowledge none of them did study’s on actual humans that I found, does anyone know of any empirical evidence of human study’s since the last posts?
Question 2: Has anyone eaten this plant? If so, what does it taste like? I am interested in incorporating it into modern cuisine. Also if anyone knows where to buy this plant that I would be greatly appreciative as well.
Thank you for your time and any feedback would be wonderful, and again please no information on Zija. I do not care about that, I am only interested in the botanical itself.
Intriguingly, one published paper claims that Moringa oleifera is, in effect, good for whatever ails you.
“Various parts of this plant such as the leaves, roots, seed, bark, fruit, flowers and immature pods act as cardiac and circulatory stimulants, possess antitumor, antipyretic, antiepileptic, antiinflammatory, antiulcer, antispasmodic, diuretic, antihypertensive, cholesterol lowering, antioxidant, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, antibacterial and antifungal activities, and are being employed for the treatment of different ailments in the indigenous system of medicine, particularly in South Asia.”
One of Jackmannii’s Laws Of Alternative Remedies states that the more things an herb/supplement is claimed to treat, the less likely it is to be effective in treating any condition (see also: apple cider vinegar, glyconutrients etc.)
I’d be hesitant about regularly consuming this plant for multiple reasons, including the lack of human studies you referred to and the likely difficulty of obtaining an extract in pure/active form (imported herbal products carry a risk of inconsistent manufacturing standards and contamination).
Can’t help you with your first question, but I did cook some moringa leaves last week. The taste is peculiar. Eaten fresh, the leaves doesn’t have much flavor, just a faint grassy flavor and a hint of alfafa. Based on wikipedia and other sparse recipes that I found, it can be cooked in a similar fashion to spinach, so I sauteed it with some olive oil and then salted and peppered it. The result was a fibrous and tangled mass that tasted vaguely like an unholy mix of wheat germ and spinach with an acrid aftertaste. Needless to say, I doubt I’m going to get more of this in the future unless I find a better method of preparation. Grinding it up into a powder might work. What kind of modern cuisine do you make?
I got a bunch at my local Asian market and it was labeled as kalamungay although there was a very helpful note posted next to it stating that it was also known as moringa. It seems to be used in Filipino cuisine, so you can try and find it in a Filipino market if you have some around.
Yes, I did read about the health effects that are claimed by it. But to my knowledge has never been studied with humans. That is what i am trying to find out. I personally am not looking to extract the the plant for its nutrient value but rather start to incorporate it into new food for the restaurants that i work for. But thank you for your post.
Thank you, that helps my second question. Now i know it might be a good challenge Also i will try my local Asian markets to see if I can find it, thank you for that as well. Well any kind of cuisine really I try to use all local ingredients and things that are not normally used, i get as much as i can from local farms and base my food from that!
I’ve eaten drumstick curry in India, where they believe it strengthens the bones. I’ve never tried the leaves, though. I was taught to eat the curried drumsticks by sucking out the soft inside from the fibrous exterior (and discarding the latter). Exactly like sucking marrow from bones. I guess the law of correspondences accounts for its reputation of being good for bones. It does have calcium…
I don’t have time to look into it carefully, but the first hit on PubMed for “Moringa oleifera review” gives this:
I didn’t look up the paper, but “preclinical studies”, to me, implies at least some human work. The full paper is here. I can access it on my school’s account. I don’t know if it’s publicly available.
I don’t doubt that, at least in cell culture or maybe animal studies some or all of those listed properties may have been manifested. It’s a long leap from that to say that this is a wonder herb that maximizes all of those properties in humans without some interfering with others or actually harming organ function.
We also need to be wary of arguments that such-and-such a food/herb has been used for a long time in a Third World setting, so it must be safe and effective. Oversight in these situations tends to be poor, and as noted the countries where such foods are used don’t tend to be shining examples of health and longevity. I’ve seen sweeping hype for lots of things (acai juice and coconut oil spring immediately to mind) that either don’t have good evidentiary backing or may in fact be harmful in routine use.
I wasn’t claiming anything was proven, nor do I hold that opinion. The OP was wondering simply if any human work had been done. This seemed like a good place to start looking for an answer to that specific question. That was the extent of my thought process.
That is great but what did the drumstick taste like? Taste, and texture. And if you have problems coming up with the taste there is only 5 tastes that would help me more, salty, bitter, sweet, sour, umami(savory). if you can pick one or more of these if you can recall that would be helpful.
Well in the article it did say they have done epidemiological studies. Which leads me to believe they have started testing it on humans, but I can not be 100% positive on that because they did not state that it was done on humans. It could have been on lab rats i’m not a doctor so I can’t say for sure. But thank you for this information.
With my research so far It has shown a lot of potential in rat studies, but as far as human studies i could not find any empirical research done on humans. I am not worried about the arguments of third world countries, because what I am looking for is scientific evidence, studies, and trials on humans. Therefor I will not dignify the posts on that with an answer because that is not what I am looking for.
Drumsticks are used in Indian cooking mainly in a few of the dishes from South India. While it may have tasted bland by itself after it was cooked, the flavor it gives the dish is huge. The way you can tell is by leaving it out in one version and adding it to the other. I am a big fan
You get frozen drumsticks quite easily in any Indian store. Ask the people in the store.
I have tried the leaves - but very long ago and don’t really remember the taste.
Thank you that helps a lot. I did know that the flavors come out more when cooked. That makes me think of lemongrass or steeping it for the drumsticks.
Pardon me for not seeing this earlier, I’ve been afk for a while.
I’m slightly confused at what the OP is asking for. Are you interested in moringa for culinary usage or for health benefits? If the latter, are you talking about health benefits of the tree parts as food or extracts from those tree parts as neutraceuticals? (aside: I’m also puzzled by your interest in possible culinary uses of an African/South Asian tree in your expressed localvore cooking philosophy.)
Be all that as it may, I guess what you are really asking is: has the science advanced to the point where any of the claims of moringa advocates have been substantiated. At the risk of seeming arrogant, I’ll quote myself from the other thread:“Even then what I said years ago still applies: there are no peer-reviewed, published, double-blind studies in humans showing any unique biological affect from moringa. At best it is an interesting food source.”
There are some indications that moringa extracts will possibly be the source of useful compounds, for example, anti-cancer drugs, but these are still in *in vitro *settings.
What I am asking for is both. But you have answered the first question, thank you for that I figured there was not anything out yet. As far as my cooking philosophy though i stated that i like to keep it as local as possible, as well as use things that are not normally used in fine dinning. I have been in the culinary industry for 10+ years and never came across the moringa tree so i was curious. Thank you for your post paperbackwriter i figured that you would answer that question for me!
I get it from a local organic grocery store in Yucca Valley, California. The store is owned by a doctor who owns a farm down the road in Joshua Tree, California. He grows the Moringa trees organically. The leaves are dried and powdered. I have a few minor issues, but I am not sick by any means. Most people consider me to be a healthy 36 year old guy. The doc recommended I try Moringa as a supplement basically because virtually all the food we consume is depleted in the vital nutrients. Moringa puts back in what were missing. To be honest I haven’t been taking it as often as I feel I should, but I have seen a marked improvement in my health. I feel amazing, my skin is super clear, my eyes shine, nails, feet, back pain, the list goes on. I’m an avid cyclist. I mountain bike, road bike, and race BMX. When training on Moringa, I don’t feel as affected by wind or temperature, which usually results in an excuse not to ride. I asked my friend the doc why this is and he said the Moringa increases circulation so your not feeling the cold or wind. I’ve got many stories about Moringa and how it works for me. There are several nursuries in the Los Angeles area the sell the trees. I intend on picking up a few and growing them in my sandy Joshua Tree backyard.
