The moringa oleifera tree has been called the Tree of Life by the people of its native habitat, as it has so many nutritional uses. Moringa oleifera seeds have a unique and pleasing appearance. They come with their very own wings to ensure that the wind carries them to fertile ground far away from the parent plant. When firmly rooted, they produce one of the most nutritious plant in the world.
Moringa Seeds have been cherished throughout history for the bounty that they bring when planted in fertile soil and tended to with care. Moringa Seeds have been so important throughout history that they were used as currency in many cultures. Few seeds on earth have more value than the moringa seed, which germinates to give us one of the most useful plants known to date.
Moringa seeds are large, circular-shaped seeds which grow inside the equally large pods of the moringa oleifera tree. Moringa seed pods can reach lengths of well over a foot in length, and each pod can provide over a dozen large moringa seeds.
Moringa seeds have two sets of thin flaps extending from the main kernel of the seeds. These flaps can serve as wings for carrying the seed away from the mother tree. Wind can push these moringa seeds across the ground until they find a resting place to germinate.
Unlike the fast-growing leaves of the moringa oleifera tree, moringa seed pods do not grow back every few months. Moringa trees produce seed pods on a yearly basis, much like the production habits of other trees. It is usually worth the wait for moringa trees to produce their seed pods. Moringa trees give off incredible volume of seed pods during their reproduction months. An average-sized moringa tree of fifteen to twenty feet in height can produce dozens or even hundreds of seed pods, yielding thousands of moringa seeds.
Fresh moringa seeds are usually quite soft and yield with strong pressure. As moringa seeds dry out, they harden up. If moringa seeds are to be used for oil extraction, the seeds are harvested and immediately processed. The fresh, soft moringa seeds are broken into pieces and heated with water, then they are pressed for oil. Freshly harvested moringa seeds that are cold-pressed can produce up to 40% oil by weight.
If moringa seeds are not harvested for oil, they are most likely used for eating. Moringa seeds are a popular table food in many cultures around the world. The seeds can be steamed or boiled, either in the pod or shelled, much like peas or green beans. Moringa seeds can also be seasoned and roasted for a snack food. Moringa seeds are packed with nutrients and are one of the most nutritious seeds in the world, making them as popular as moringa leaves in many household meals and recipes.
Moringa seeds will germinate best if they are soaked first. Soak your moringa seeds in water for 12-24 hours. This will allow the seeds to absorb the moisture required for sprouting the seed. Once you have soaked the seeds, bury them in a wet cloth and store the cloth in a warm, dark place. If your storage location is overly dry, be sure to keep the cloth wet so the seeds do not dry out. Once you have soaked the seeds and they are ‘woken up’, you must be sure to keep the moringa seeds moist until they have germinated and established themselves in soil.
Check the moringa seeds every day for the next week until you see sprouts coming from the seeds. Once this happens, relocate the seeds to soil. Bury them in ¼” of clean soil and keep the area moist. The seeds will quickly establish themselves in their new homes and soon grow to strong young moringa seedlings.
The rule of thumb for growing moringa oleifera is to keep temperatures above 70°F. This may be a big high, and you can most likely maintain a healthy moringa tree if temperatures dip below 70°F for a period of time during the year.
Because it is such a fast grower, you can thoroughly harvest the moringa plant of its leaves every 45 days and it will grow back without any detriment to the health of the tree. In fact, the moringa leaves make a wonderful addition to any salad. One of the many benefits of moringa seeds is that moringa is one of the fastest growing plants in the world – second only to bamboo. In fact, a Moringa tree can grow up to 21 feet in its first year after germinating from seed if it is not pruned to an appropriate height for an indoor plant.
More than 40% of the composition of moringa seeds is the luxurious moringa oil. This moringa seed extract is a light, sweet oil, also known as ben oil or Behen oil. With an oleic acid content of 72%, the moringa seed oil penetrates deeply into the skin, bringing essential nutrients and helping the skin retain rejuvenating moisture.
Amazingly, the seed cake remaining after the extraction of the oil has been demonstrated to be a very effective flocculent/coagulant for the clarification of turbid water. It is highly effective for the removal of sediment and bacteria. The seed cake is introduced into a volume of water, and the water is stirred or agitated for a period of time. The small pieces of moringa seed cake work to effectively attract particulate matter, including dirt, sediment, algae, and bacteria, which cling to the seed cake particles, effectively sponging them up.
When the water is filtered with a cloth screen fine enough to catch the seed cake, the water is significantly more pure than it was prior to the introduction of the moringa seed cake - up to 90% cleaner. This is just one of the moringa seed's many wonderful little-known benefits.
The moringa seed is truly a wonder of nature for its many uses. Germinating a moringa seed produces a tree that will grow rapidly and continue to give back its many uses and life-giving nutrients for years to come.
While many parts of Moringa Oleifera trees are deemed useful, the seeds are especially prized for their medicinal powers. The seeds have valuable properties that enable them to treat a wide array of illnesses and conditions. The National Charity for Organic Growing has studied the efficacy of Moringa Oleifera seeds as a medial treatment and found that they provide legitimate relief for many medical problems. These include rheumatism, gout, sexually transmitted diseases, urinary infections, boils, and even epilepsy. When used as medicine, the seeds are pounded and mixed with coconut oil. Often, seed oil derived from the Moringa Oleifera seeds will be used in place of the mashed seeds
Moringa seeds in traditional medicine
The seeds of the moringa plant have been used in Ayurveda medical practice for centuries to treat a variety of ailments and to improve overall health in patients. The antibiotic properties of moringa seeds make them valuable in poultices and topical treatments for bacterial infections and other conditions of the skin. Taken internally, moringa seeds have traditionally been used to reduce the frequency of epileptic fits and to treat arthritis and rheumatoid disorders. Moringa seeds are also recommended by traditional practitioners to treat a variety of sexual dysfunctions and to improve sex drive in both men and women.
For centuries, the natives of India and many parts of Africa have known of the many benefits of Moringa oleifera. Moringa uses are as unique as the names it is known by, such as clarifier tree, horseradish tree and drumstick tree (referring to the large drumstick shaped pods) and in East Africa it is called "mother's best friend”. Virtually every part of the moringa tree can be used. Native only to the foothills of the Himalayas, moringa is now widely cultivated in India, Africa, Central and South America, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the Philippines. Moringa tree, though little known in the Western world, is nutritional dynamite. There are literally hundreds of uses for this tree.
The immature pods are the most valued and widely used of all the moringa tree parts. The moringa pods are extremely nutritious, containing all the essential amino acids along with many vitamins and other nutrients. The immature moringa pod can be eaten raw or prepared like green peas or green beans, while the mature pods are usually fried and possess a peanut-like flavor. The pods also yield 38 - 40% of non-drying, edible oil known as Ben Oil. This oil is clear, sweet and odorless, and never becomes rancid. Overall, its nutritional value most closely resembles olive oil. The thickened moringa root is used as a substitute for horseradish although this is now discouraged as it contains alkaloids, especially moriginine, and a bacteriocide, spirochin, both of which can prove fatal following ingestion. The moringa leaves are eaten as greens, in salads, in vegetable curries, as pickles and for seasoning. They can be pounded up and used for scrubbing utensils and for cleaning walls. Moringa Leaves and young branches are relished by livestock (f. The Moringa Bark can be used for tanning and also yields a coarse fiber. The Moringa flowers, which must be cooked, are eaten either mixed with other foods or fried in batter and have been shown to be rich in potassium and calcium.
In developing tropical countries, Moringa trees have been used to combat malnutrition, especially among infants and nursing mothers. Moringa Leaves can be eaten fresh, cooked, or stored as dried powder for many months without refrigeration, and 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. Analyses of the moringa leaf composition have revealed them to have significant quantities of vitamins A, B and C, calcium, iron and protein.
The Moringa tree has great use medicinally both as preventative and treatment. Much of the evidence is anecdotal as there has been little actual scientific research done to support these claims. India's ancient tradition of ayurveda says the leaves of the Moringa tree prevent 300 diseases. One area in which there has been significant scientific research is the reported antibiotic activity of this tree.
The seeds of the Moringa oleifera plant are among the most nutritious and useful botanical products available. These versatile seeds can be used in a variety of ways including as medicinal and herbal remedies, as nutritional supplements and for industrial and agricultural purposes. Moringa seeds are edible in both fresh and dried forms and, along with the seed pods that contain them, can be prepared in numerous ways as both food and medicine. The medicinal properties of the moringa seed are well documented in the scientific literature and are further supported by the experiences of generations of traditional Ayurvedic practitioners.
Moringa seeds have several beneficial uses. As Food, Moringa seeds can be eaten, either alone or along with the entire pod. The moringa seed can be roasted and eaten like nuts. They can also be used in cooking the same way one would use peas or beans.The moringa oleifera seeds contain high-quality oil which can be used for cooking and for lubrication.
The Moringa seeds can be used to remove impurities from dirty water and help make it drinkable. A study has found that the moringa seeds not only can help purify water, but also soften it.
The moringa " seed cake " that is left over after crushing the seeds for oil extraction or water purification can then be used as a fertilizer.
