There's nothing super-looking about Moringa. It鈥檚 skinny and sparse in foliage. Its fragile branches sprout puny white flowers and droop with long twisted pods knobby with seeds. But if plants were superheroes, then moringa would be Iron Man.
鈥淚f there were a top 10 list of plants that are going to help feed the world over the next hundred years, I would say moringa should be on that list,鈥 said Carrie Waterman, a University of California, Davis, natural products chemist.
![Moringa leaves and flower](/sites/default/files/media/images/flower-leaves-moringa-superfood-uc-davis-2.jpg)
![moringa leaves](/sites/default/files/media/images/double-leaves-moringa-superfood-uc-davis-2.jpg)
Every part of the plant is edible - leaves, pods, seeds, flowers, even its root. The feathery leaves alone pack a powerful protein punch 鈥 nearly 30 percent by dry weight. Legumes don鈥檛 even have that much protein, nor all the essential amino acids.
![A table top covered by fruits and vegetables](/sites/default/files/media/images/savoring-science-uc-davis.jpg)
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The leaves are high in vitamins A and C, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium and potassium. They contain and that have been shown in some research studies to reduce . The plant even has the potential to simultaneously treat both malnutrition and obesity.
![bowl of harvested Moringa](/sites/default/files/media/images/bow-harvested-4-moringa-superfood-uc-davis.jpg)
鈥淢y first impression was that it鈥檚 too good to be true,鈥 said Waterman, who has researched the benefits of moringa for nearly a decade. Waterman鈥檚 research on the plant led to her being a co-inventor on a patent issued to Rutgers University in New Jersey for a process to extract bioactive compounds from moringa seeds. The patent is currently licensed to Estee Lauder.
More studies are needed to assess how the plant works in the body and how its nutrients and phytochemicals affect the body, she said, but the 鈥渕iracle tree,鈥 as it is sometimes described, shows great potential as a solution for a healthful, sustainable food supply for a rapidly growing global population.
What Makes a Superfood so Super?
Where did the term superfood originate from, anyway? Maybe unsurprisingly, the term had little to do with any formal scientific or nutritional study.
Food, supplement, medicine
The moringa tree, also known as the drumstick tree because of its slender foot-long pods, has been consumed mainly in parts of Southeast Asia for centuries.
The plant is distantly related to cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale and cabbage, and shares the same nutritious compounds. Its leaves, when tossed on salads or on meat, taste a bit peppery like arugula. Young pods are reminiscent of Chinese long beans, with a hint of spice. Seeds can be eaten or boiled to make salad oil. The fragrant flowers are often used to make tea.
More commonly, the leaves are dried and ground into a powder that鈥檚 added to soups, curries and stews.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 dried, it鈥檚 much more concentrated,鈥 said Waterman. 鈥淵ou get a lot more of the nutrients but can certainly lose some of the heat sensitive nutrients, like Vitamin C, in the drying process.鈥
![Carrie Waterman talks with Tanzanian community members](/sites/default/files/media/images/web-carrie-waterman-communities-tanzania-moringa-superfood-uc-davis.jpg)
Waterman was introduced to moringa while in the Peace Corps in The Gambia, West Africa. Gambians use the leaves as a protein and iron supplement for mothers and infants. People with diabetes may chew the bitter-tasting seeds to control blood sugar levels.
Worldwide, the list of moringa鈥檚 medicinal uses is long. People have used it for everything from typhoid to toothaches.
69成人 researchers are working to distinguish the science from the hype.
Science versus Hype
Waterman has moringa鈥檚 anti-inflammatory benefits. Her research has found that fed a high-fat diet along with concentrated moringa lost weight, improved glucose tolerance and failed to develop fatty liver disease compared with those not fed moringa.
鈥淢oringa has a high level of antioxidants and very specific molecules that help reduce inflammation, which we know is underlying a lot of the chronic health conditions including cancer, obesity, diabetes and malnutrition,鈥 Waterman said.
Peter Havel, a professor of nutrition and molecular biosciences at the 69成人 School of Veterinary Medicine, has tested moringa in the 69成人 Type 2 diabetes rat model he developed that closely mimics diabetes in humans. Those studies found moringa delayed diabetes in rats approximately five months, which could mean a delay of 10 to 15 years for humans.
鈥淒elaying diabetes is huge,鈥 Havel said. 鈥淚f diabetes is delayed by 15 years and you get it at age 60 instead of 45, you may not need a kidney transplant.鈥 Delayed diabetes could also forestall a heart attack or an amputation.
鈥淒elaying diabetes is huge,鈥 Havel said. 鈥淚f diabetes is delayed by 15 years and you get it at age 60 instead of 45, you may not need a kidney transplant.鈥
![moringa benefits](/sites/default/files/media/images/moringa4a_0.jpg)
![moringa anatomy](/sites/default/files/media/images/moringa4b.jpg)
So how is it that one plant can help both the obese and the malnourished? Waterman said it may be that the plant provides the amino acids and proteins to help build strong muscle and bones, while some of the phytochemicals better metabolize sugar so it鈥檚 not getting stored as fat.
A few clinical studies in India have shown moringa can reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, but Waterman said more trials are needed.
A healthier world
In addition to its healthful elements, Waterman sees moringa as a strategic crop in the face of global warming and rapid population growth. The world鈥檚 population is predicted to grow from 7.6 billion to about 10 billion by 2050.
It鈥檚 native to India, but moringa can grow anywhere temperatures don鈥檛 dip below freezing. It鈥檚 even drought tolerant and can grow in sandy soils. It also grows fast and can produce flowers year-round.
![Carrie Waterman helps harvest moringa](/sites/default/files/media/images/web-carrie-waterman-communities-2-tanzania-moringa-superfood-uc-davis.jpg)
鈥淲e need to find the best foods that can be grown locally that are accessible and appealing to populations,鈥 said Waterman, who is currently in Kenya helping moringa farmers increase yields. 鈥淢oringa can help us address food security.鈥
It may seem like a lot to ask of a little tree. But 69成人 researchers are taking the idea a step further by sequencing moringa鈥檚 genome.
![Carrie Waterman and Collins Mwenda](/sites/default/files/media/images/carrie-waterman-collins-mwenda-botanic-treasure-moringa-uc-davis.jpg)
鈥淟ike any other crop we need to have improved varieties that are nutritious, can resist disease and increase yield,鈥 said Allen Van Deynze, director of research at the 69成人 Seed Biotechnology Center.
Plant breeders consider moringa an 鈥渙rphan crop鈥 with limited appeal and markets, like fava beans or yams. Unlike globally traded cash crops such as corn and wheat, moringa has been neglected by crop breeding programs.
But Van Deynze is adopting these orphans. He is the scientific director of the , which has as its task to sequence the genomes of 101 orphan crops, moringa among them. Van Deynze said all African crop selections are already nutritious. They鈥檙e just not productive enough.
鈥淲e鈥檙e providing genomic tools, so we can breed plants that may have more yield or that can be harvested more quickly,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e want to provide nutrition for tens of families, not one from a single farm.鈥
California-grown moringa
On the outskirts of Fresno, California, an increasing number of farmers are growing a large variety of tropical crops in this temperate climate.
Among the knee-high lemongrass, taro root and Kabocha squash, Zia Thea Xiong has rows of moringa trees on his 40-acre farm. Originally from Laos, Xiong says through an interpreter that he sells the fresh leaves and drumstick seeds easily at local farmers鈥 markets.
![Farmer Zia Thea Xiong](/sites/default/files/media/images/farmer-2-moringa-superfood-uc-davis.jpg)
鈥淢oringa compared to other crops does very well in the Central Valley because of its drought tolerance,鈥 said Ruth Dahlquist-Willard, a small farms and specialty crops advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Fresno County.
Dahlquist-Willard is working with Xiong and other farmers to find an efficient way to dry and grind the moringa leaves into a powder. That would allow the farmers to sell year-round and tap into the growing health food market for moringa in the U.S.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to compete with the international market, we鈥檙e trying to promote a higher quality locally grown produce,鈥 Dahlquist-Willard said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the farm-to-fork idea where local farmers could market their own products.鈥 She hopes moringa will help sustain more small family farms like this one.
![Ruth Dahlquist WIllard examines Moringa leaves](/sites/default/files/media/images/ruth-dahlquist-willard-moringa-superfood-uc-davis.jpg)
Xiong has now been selling fresh moringa for four years and is trying to expand to meet demand. He raves about the benefits of moringa. While he eats it himself, he also has been feeding his small herd of goats a bunch of moringa leaves every few days for the past several months.
Xiong said the goats didn鈥檛 look good before. Their hair was unclean, and they seemed sick.
But now, he beams with pride as he shows them off.
鈥淭hey look nice,鈥 said Xiong in English. 鈥淭heir bodies change. They鈥檙e just healthier.鈥
To learn more about how 69成人 experts help feed a growing population, visit www.ucdavis.edu/food
Media contact: Amy Quinton, 69成人 News and Media Relations, 530-752-9843, amquinton@ucdavis.edu
![Carrie Waterman and Tanzanian community members](/sites/default/files/media/images/web-banner-carrie-waterman-communities-3-tanzania-moringa-superfood-uc-davis_0.jpg)
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