Moringa Has Potential To Save Millions, Cure Malnutrition

According to ancient medicine, Meringa leaves may prevent up to 300 different types of disease. Although, that has yet to be quantified, there are clearly some very interesting facts about the Moringa Tree. The non-profit, Trees for Life International, believes these tiny leaves could save millions of lives around the world. After you read a bit more and discover its nutrient packed statistics and possible applications, you'll wonder why you haven't heard of tree and aren't taking it yourself. It could turn into the hottest new trend or turn into a potential cure for malnutrition in developing countries.

Moringa is a slender tree with dropping branches that reach up to 10 meters in length and is considered to be one of the world's most useful branches. The tree is native to the foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India and is widely cultivated in Africa, Central and South America, India, Mexico, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. Every part of the plant can be used ranging from water purification, medicine, and oil by using its seeds to harnessing its nutrients from its leaves and pods. All of which uses can be extremely valuable for the developing world. Just take a look at its nutritional values:

If you had the same response I did, you're probably shocked. But, now think of the implications if this was packaged and sold as a supplement? It would not only create demand (think creation of new jobs for the developing world where the plant grows), but could also help people dieing of malnutrition across Africa and other places fighting HIV epidemics.

The demographics of the plants growth and areas where the plant are needed overlap almost identically in the map below. [Found in a power point presentation from Trees for Life.]

The presentation goes into other uses:

Livestock fodder

Mr. Foidl found that adding Moringa leaves to cattle feed increased their daily weight gain by up to 32 percent. Both Foidl and Reyes also experimented with Moringa and milk cows. Foidl supplemented with 15 to 17 kilograms of fresh Moringa leaves daily, and the cattle’s milk production increased by 43 percent. Reyes supplemented his milk cows’ feed with 2 kg dry matter of Moringa per day, and milk production increased by 58 percent. Then he supplemented with 3 kg dry matter per day, and milk production increased by 65 percent. Imagine what would be possible if milk production in developing countries could be increased in this way. It could prevent untold suffering of people with protein deficiency.

Plant spray that has been found to have the following benefits:

Accelerated growth of young plants Firmer plants that are more resistant to pests and disease Longer life-span Heavier roots, stems and leaves Increased fruit produce Larger fruit Increased yield between 20-35%.

Production of biogas with double the output compared to similar plant material used for methane gas production:

Based on his experiments, Foidl estimates that more than 4,400 cubic meters of methane could be produced per hectare of Moringa per year. That is up to twice as much methane as can be produced per hectare per year from sugar beet leaves, a common plant material for biogas. Further experiments are needed to examine this potential use of Moringa.

Other creative uses are also beginning to come into play. For instance, take a look at Mojo Body Fuel. It's the perfect type of product that we'd like to feature on Clean Economies and that others should imitate.

Mershard Frierson is a social entrepreneur at Fisk University who started Mojo Body Fuel both as a venture and social foreign aid initiative. He's using the tree to build a supplement business while building awareness and providing a portion of revenue to planting trees in the Philippines and Haiti. I first came in contact with him a couple weeks ago through my other site College Mogul where he recently contributed an article, 'Part 1: Guide To Creating Products Linked to Social Entrepreneurship'. In his post, which will be a multi-part series, he begins to explain how others can start setting up similar ventures.

Linking products to social causes is a great idea. It goes along with Clean Economies' mantra that business models can do good and promote social impact while creating profit. If you know of an interesting product we should cover or would like to contribute an article, please send us an email.