Potentiality of Moringa oleifera as a Nutritive Ingredient in Different Food Matrices

Abstract

Given the growing interest of today's society in improving the nutritional profile of the food it consumes, industrial food reformulation is booming. In this sense, due to its high yield, good adaptation to climate change and high nutritional potential, Moringa oleifera may be an alternative means of fortifying products, in order to improve different food matrices. The different parts of this plant (leaves, seeds, flowers, pods, roots…) can be marketed for their nutritional and medicinal attributes. In this analysis, various scientific studies have been compiled that evaluate the potential of Moringa oleifera in terms of its incorporation into food matrices and its influence on the final sensory characteristics. In general, the incorporation of different parts of moringa into products, such as bread, pastries, snacks and beverages, increases the nutritional profile of the product (proteins, essential amino acids, minerals and fiber), the dried leaf powder representing an alternative to milk and eggs and helping vegans/vegetarians to consume the same protein content. In the case of dairy and meat products, the goal is to improve the antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity. In every food product, adding high concentrations of moringa leads to greenish colorations, herbal flavors and changes in the mechanical properties (texture, hardness, chewiness, volume and sponginess), negatively impacting the acceptance of the final product. This bibliographic review highlights the need to continue researching the technological properties with the dual aim of incorporating different parts of moringa into food matrices and increasing consumer familiarity with this product.

Yoghurt fortification with Moringa oleifera: nutritional and production aspects

“…Although several studies have successfully created one form of M. oleifera-enriched yoghurt or another (refer to Table 4), striking a balance on how the bioactive ingredients of M. oleifera would be incorporated per serving of yoghurt remains debatable. The main challenge is related to the observed sensory properties when M. oleifera extract/leaves are incorporated into yoghurt especially at high concentrations (Trigo et al, 2022). As achieving the recommended dietary allowance of this bioactive ingredient in functional product such as yoghurt without producing an off-taste, not only proves challenging, the rich polyphenolic content of M. oleifera may equally be associated with the astringent taste that occurs in milk products (O'Connell and Fox, 2001).…”

Giving Moringa Leaf Noodle and Eel Formulations on Body Weight as an Effort to Prevent Stunting in Toddler

“…Hasil kesimpulan adalah gizi kandungan keripik belut dapat memicu peningkatan kadar hemoglobin bagi remaja khususnya putri dengan rata-rata peningkatan sebesar 1,429 mg%. Penelitian selanjutnya dilakukan oleh Carla Trigo et al (2023) menjelaskan bahwa industri makanan formulasi berkembang pesat dan daun kelor menjadi pangan alternatif untuk fortifikasi pangan.…”

Bio-Functional Prospects of Moringa oleifera Lam on Meat Quality-A Review

“…More research in this regard is highly recommended. Apart from meat, the inclusion of the Moringa oleifera plant at various levels has also been employed to improve the sensory attributes of other food derivatives including beverages, juice, dairy products (yogurt, cheese) and bread (Bourekoua et al, 2018;Govender and Siwela, 2020;Olusanya et al, 2020;Trigo et al, 2023).…”