Compositional and nutritional attributes of seeds from the multiple purpose treeMoringa oleifera Lamarck

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam is a multipurpose tree cultivated to use as a vegetable, for spice, for cooking and cosmetic oil and as a medicinal plant. Owing to the use of its seeds as food and as a clarifying agent of turbid water some nutritional and antinutritional characteristics were studied. The mature seeds contained 332.5 g crude protein, 412.0 g crude fat, 211.2 g carbohydrate and 44.3 g ash per kg dry matter. The essential amino acid profile compared with the FAO/WHO/UNU scoring pattern requirements for different age groups showed deficiency of lysine, threonine and valine. The content of methionine + cysteine (43.6 g kg−1 protein), however, was exceptionally higher and close to that of human milk, chicken egg and cow's milk. The seed extract agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes but did not show trypsin inhibitor and urease activities. Feeding rats with a diet containing the seed meal showed loss of appetite, impaired growth, lower NPU and enlargement of stomach, small intestine, caecum + colon, liver, pancreas, kidneys, heart and lungs and atrophy of thymus and spleen in comparison with rats fed on an egg‐white diet. The results indicated that consumption of M oleifera raw mature seeds should be viewed with some caution until suitable processing methods are developed to abolish the yet unknown adverse factors. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry

Moringa oleifera Seeds and Oil: Characteristics and Uses for Human Health

“…Thus, the defatted seeds of M. oleifera could provide an economical source of protein for use as a food supplement to traditional diets to increase protein intake. Furthermore, like the protein fraction, M. oleifera seeds have a high content of methionine and cysteine, close to that reported for milk and eggs [24]. Therefore, they can be consumed together with legumes which are deficient in sulphur amino acids.…”

“…Therefore, they can be consumed together with legumes which are deficient in sulphur amino acids. Moreover, M. oleifera seeds seem to be free of trypsin inhibitor and urease activity, confirming the high protein digestibility (93%) of M. oleifera seeds [24,25]. Table 1 shows the chemical composition of the M. oleifera seed.…”

Nutritional Quality of Edible Parts of Moringa oleifera

“…However, the protein content of the flowers and immature pods contrast with a report by Tacon (1989) for the pea pods (Pisum sativum, 10.79%). A profile of 30.07% and 33.26% of protein has been reported for mature seeds from M. oleifera cultivated in Pakistan and Brazil, respectively (Manzoor et al 2007;Oliveira et al 1999).…”

Ethnobotanical Assessment of Moringa oleifera Lam. in Southern Benin (West Africa)

“…Recently, M. oleifera has gained interest especially because of its nutritional and medicinal value. Indeed, in several African countries such as Sudan, Tanzania, Niger, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, leaves and seeds of M. oleifera are considered as important sources of proteins, lipids, vitamins, and essential minerals for human health (Afuang et al 2003, Leonard 2006, Oliveira et al 1999, Sreelatha & Padma 2009). Although M. oleifera is integrated into several programs of food assistance for preventing malnutrition of children and nursing mothers (Afuang et al 2003, Leonard 2006, Sreelatha & Padma 2009), a lack of information still persists for this species, notably concerning local knowledge of uses.…”