Leaf Protein and Mineral Concentrations across the “Miracle Tree” Genus Moringa

Abstract

The moringa tree Moringa oleifera is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree cultivated across the lowland dry tropics worldwide for its nutritious leaves. Despite its nutritious reputation, there has been no systematic survey of the variation in leaf nutritional quality across M. oleifera grown worldwide, or of the other species of the genus. To guide informed use of moringa, we surveyed protein, macro-, and micro- nutrients across 67 common garden samples of 12 Moringa taxa, including 23 samples of M. oleifera. Moringa oleifera, M. concanensis, M. stenopetala, an M. concanensis X oleifera hybrid, and M. longituba were highest in protein, with M. ruspoliana having the highest calcium levels. A protein-dry leaf mass tradeoff may preclude certain breeding possibilities, e.g. maximally high protein with large leaflets. These findings identify clear priorities and limitations for improved moringa varieties with traits such as high protein, calcium, or ease of preparation.

Variation in the mineral element concentration of Moringa oleifera Lam. and M. stenopetala (Bak. f.) Cuf.: Role in human nutrition

“…There is increasing interest in the potential role of underutilised crops to address MNDs and Moringa is one example [4]. Moringa is the sole genus of the flowering plant family Moringaceae, order Brassicales; [5].…”

“…Moringa oleifera and M . stenopetala (MS) are the two cultivated and most studied species [4, 10–19]. …”

“…As a food or forage source, Moringa spp. can supply a wide range of essential macro and micro nutrients [4, 25, 40, 41]. The mean concentration of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, and Zn in MO leaves collected from a garden in Jalisco State of Mexico were 16100, 9.6, 97.9, 2830 and 29.1 mg kg -1 dry weight (dw), respectively.…”

“…The mean concentration of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, and Zn in MO leaves collected from a garden in Jalisco State of Mexico were 16100, 9.6, 97.9, 2830 and 29.1 mg kg -1 dry weight (dw), respectively. Similarly, the concentrations of these elements in MS leaves were 12700, 9.1, 69.9, 3690 and 33.7 mg kg -1 dw, respectively [4]. A mean Se concentration of 0.877 mg kg -1 dw was reported in MO leaves grown at six locations ranging from 0.455 mg kg -1 dw in Rwanda to 2.00 mg kg -1 dw in the Solomon Islands [42].…”

“…A study conducted by Olson et al . [4] indicated variation in leaf elemental concentration between 12 Moringa species grown in a common garden experiment.…”