Moringa is a tropical tree believed to have its origin in Agra and Oduh in the northwest region of India, South of the Himalayan mountains and mentioned in the a “shushruta Sanhita” which was written in the beginning of the First Century AD and has evidence that its cultivation in India dates back to many thousand years ago.

It is believed that the Indians knew that the seeds contain edible oil and they used them for medicinal purposes and the common people knew of its value and used it as fodder or vegetable.

The tree which can be found growing naturally at elevations of up to 1000m above sea level does well on hillsides but is more frequently found growing on pasture land or in river basins.

It is a fast growing tree and has been found to grow to 6-7m in one year in areas receiving less than 400mm mean annual rainfall (Odee, 1988).

Today, it is cultivated throughout the middle East and in almost the whole of the tropical belt and was introduced into Eastern Africa from India at the beginning of the 20th century and as a non-cultivated plant, it was known for its resistance to drought and decease.

Because this tree has so many potential uses, the trio of Foid N, Makkar H.P.S. and Becker K. conducted an extensive research programme on it over a period of 10 years with financial assistance from the Austraian government and the University of Hohenheim, Stuggart.

According to them, the Plant possesses many properties which make it of great scientific interest which include high protein contents of the leaves, twigs and stem and oil contents of the seeds. They also identified the presence of growth factors in the leaves and high sugar and starch content of the entire plant.

They equally identified the fact that few parts of the tree contain any toxins that might decrease its potentials as a source of food for animals or humans.

On the Socio-economic aspect, Moringa is one of the most useful and versatile tropical plants. The relative ease with which it propagates through both sexual and asexual means and its low demand for soil nutrients and water after being planted makes its production and management easy and the introduction of Moringa into a farm which has a biodiverse environment can be beneficial to both the owner of the farm and the surrounding ecosystem.

For humans, the young leaves which are edible are commonly coked and eaten like spinach or used to make soups and salads and the young green pods are very tasty and can be boiled and eaten like green beans. The pods are best for human consumption at the stage when they can be broken easily without leaving any visible strings or fibre.

According to a nutritionist expert and Managing Director and Chief Executive of Dilomat Farms Ltd. Chief Moore Chindah, the dry seeds and leaves of Moringa can be ground to a power and used for seasoning and sauces and the roots from young plants can also be dried and ground for use as a hot seasoning base with a flavour similar to that of horse radish.

A tasty hot sauce from the roots can also be prepared by cooking them in vinegar, and the flowers can be eaten after being lightly blanched or raw as a tasty addition to salads. The rasin from the trunk of the tree is also useful for thickening sauces.

For industrial uses of the Moringa oil, it is estimated that the oil content of the de-hulled seed (Kernel) is approximately 42%. The oil can be used as a lubricant for fine machinery such as time pieces because it has little tendency to deteriorate and become racid and sticky and it is also useful as a vegetable cooking oil. The oil is known for its capacity to absorb and retain volatile substances and is therefore valuable in the perfume industry for stabilizing scents.

As a forage plant, the nutritional characteristics of the Moringa tree are excellent so it can easily be used as a fresh forage material for cattle.

The leaves are rich in protein, carotene, iron and ascorbic acid and the pod is rich in amino acid Iysine.

Another important advantage of Moringa is its high production of fresh material per unit area compared to other forage crops. Moringa is especially useful as a forage for cattle both economically and productively, given the problems facing typical cattle breeders. Moringa trees have been used to combat malnutrition especially among infants and nursing mothers.

Three Non Governmental Organisations, NGO, in particular – Trees For life, Church World Service and Educational Concerns for Hunger Organisation have advocated Moringa as “natural nutrient for the Tropics”.

Leaves can be eaten fresh, cooked or stored as dried power for many months without refrigeration and reportedly without loss of nutritional value. Moringa is especially promising as a food source in the tropics because the tree is in full leaf at the end of the dry season when other foods are typically scarce.

The kernels of Moringa can be crushed and its water extract used for purification of water and the oil extract can be used for human consumption.

In the African context, Moringa is a very simple and readily available tool to help prevent malnutrition.

Since the Moringa tree is dought resistant and fast growing and present in nearly all tropical countries, the cultivation of the plant for its various uses and needs as food and medicine for local use, cannot be over stressed.

As earlier stated, its edible leaves are already an occasional food source in West Africa regions and appear at the end of the dry season.

Moringa is probably the most useful plant in the entire world as every part of the plant can be used as food. While the seed is eaten like a peanut in some climes, the thickened root is used as a substitute for horse radush.

The leaves are ground and used for scrubbing utensils and for cleaning walls and its seeds Yeil about 40% of non-drying oil known as Ben oil used in the arts among other uses.

The oil is clear, sweet and odourless and useful in the manufacture of perfumes and hairdressing, and in Africa, Moringa is planted as a living fence and its bark can serve as a platform for tanning.

The trees are also planted on graves in Africa to keep wild animals especially hynas away and the branches they say serve as charms against withcraft.

Moringa’s medical uses are many. The flowers, leaves, seeds and roots are used as folk remedies for tumours and the leaves are applied as a poultice to sores and rubbed on the temples for headache.

A large number of reports on the nutritional qualities of Moringa now exist in both the scientific and popular literature. They say Moringa leaves contain more vitamin A than Carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more vitamic C than oranges and more potassium than bananas and that the protein quality of Moringa leaves rivals that of milk and eggs.

The oral histories recorded by Lowell Fyglie in Senegal and throughout West Africa who reports countless instances of live saving nutritional rescue are attributed to Moringa.

Infact the nutitional properties of Moringa are now so well known that there seems to be little doubt of the substantial health benefit to be realised by the Consumption of Moringa leaf powder in situations where starvation was imminent.

Nonetheless, the outcomes of well controlled and well documented clinical studies are still clearly of great value.

In many cultures throughout the tropics, differentiation between food and medicinal uses of plants eg bark, fruit, leaves, nuts, seeds, tubers, roots and flowers are very difficult since plant uses span both categories and this is deeply ingrained in the traditions and the fabric of the Community .

Known as Ikwe Oyibo in Ibo, Ewe-ile in Yoruba and Gawara in Fulani and Zogall in Hausa languages, it could be said without any doubt that from the pure Moringa, we can get very good benefits for the health which are very much reported in studies of the leaf.

It is the organic, natural, endurance and energy supplement of health. In other words, it is the ultimate thing and the most beneficial and purest part of the plant is the powdered Moringa leaf.

According to the annals of the ayurveda, India’s old tradition of medicines, the leaves of Moringa tree could treat at least 300 diseases.

They say the leaf has no proven bad side effects as it is absolutely safe and organic and because of its tolerant properties, it has been given to malnourished little babies in Africa.

Also, athletes all over the world boost their performance abilities by taking huge quantities of the leaf to keep them fit both mentally and physically. It is their secret weapon, even senior citizens who are losing their sharpness of mind, the Moringa tree leaf could be a great help and the power knows no age group.

“Unfortunately, the Moringa leaf is comparatively an unheard name in spite of the fact that it has been found mentioned more than two thousand years before, and the World Health Organisation has been observing and utilising the tree for more than forty years now as a cheap health supplement in the poverty stricken countries the world over”.

“There is a reason behind this. The selling of all kinds of health supplements, minerals and vitamins is a lucrative business. No big company would ever take the risk of introducing a name that could potentially harm and lower the sale of all other nutritional items”.

The same hold water for the pharmaceutical countries too. These huge companies would prefer to keep the general public in the dark about the benefits of the Moringa leaf to make big bucks for their own.

The benefits of the Moringa leaf are voluminous such as increase in the natural defences of the body, provision of nourishment to the eyes and brain, promotes metabolism with bio-available ingredients, promotes natural serum cholesterol, lowers the appearance of wrinkles and fineness.

It also promotes the normal functioning of the liver and kidneys, beautifies the skin, promotes digestion and acts as an antioxidant and takes care of the immune system of the body.

“Today, large scale cultivation and use of the Moringa plant has been intensified and initiated in Malawi, Kenya, India, Tanzania and Nicaragua among others, therefore it has become persistently expedient for the authorities in Nigeria to toe the line of these progressives in order to tap the full benefits associated with the use of the Moringa tree”.

No doubt, the Hon. Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina could not be said to be a stranger on the subject of the Moringa tree which of course has an international status.

To this end, therefore, it is expected that the federal government put machinery in place to see to the large scale cultivation of the Moringa tree not only at the national level but the process should be replicated in all the states of the federation.

Infact to underscore the importance of the Moringa tree, to the economic as well as the social aspect of a nation’s life, India which is the largest producer of Moringa with an annual production of 1.1 to 1.3 million tones of tender fruit from an area of 380Km2 was doing so mainly on the aim of reducing poverty and malnutrition through imposed production and consumption of vegetables.

For Nigeria, this is the time to key into harnessing the full potentials of the almighty Moringa Tree.