REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE

Malunggay or Moringa plant, with binomial or scientific name Moringa Oleifera, is widely
known in the country as malunggay vegetable/plant. It is also known as "horse radish tree,"
"drumstick tree," and "Ben oil tree" in many countries due to its horseradish leaf taste, long,
slender, triangular seed pods, and oil derived from the seeds, respectively. It is a perennial
softwood tree with low timber quality that is currently widely grown in semi-arid, tropical, and
subtropical regions. The majority of its plant parts have nutritional, medicinal, and preventative
benefits.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF MALUNGGAY

According to the Department of Agriculture's Biotechnology Program Office, biochemists and
molecular anthropologists discovered that malunggay is high in vitamins C and A, iron, and high
density lipoprotein, or healthy cholesterol.
Lactating women in the Philippines are frequently encouraged to take malunggay leaves due to
its high calcium content (four times the calcium in milk). Young malunggay leaves are boiled
and drunk as tea.
Malunggay leaves are rich in nutrients. Malunggay leaves contain twice the protein found in
milk, gram per gram. Similarly, it has three times the potassium of bananas and four times the
vitamin A of carrots.
According to nutritionists, a gram of malunggay contains the same amount of Vitamin C
as seven oranges. Many people are unaware that vitamin C has a significant antioxidant role. In
fact, the US Food and Drug Administration has recognized and accepted it as one of four
dietary antioxidants, along with vitamin E, beta-carotene, and selenium. (A dietary oxidant is a
component in food that considerably minimizes the harmful effects of hazardous substances).