Moringa oleifera Lam. MORINGACEAE Rainer W. Bussmann, Narel Y. Paniagua-Zambrana, and Grace N. Njoroge Synonyms Moringa oleifera Lam.: Anoma moringa (L.) Lour.; Guilandia moringa L.; Hyperanthera decandra Willd.; Hyperanthera moringa (L.) Vahl); Moringa amara Durin; Moringa domestica Buch.-Ham.; Moringa edulis Medik.; Moringa erecta Salisb.; Moringa moringa (L.) Millsp.; Moringa nux-eben Desf.; Moringa octogona Stokes; Moringa ovalifolia Dinter & Berger; Moringa polygona DC.; Moringa pterygosperma Gaertn.; Moringa sylvestris Buch.-Ham.; Moringa zeylanica Burman. Local Names Moringa oleifera: English: Drumstick tree, Ben oil tree, Horseradish tree; Swahili: Mzunze, Mronge, Mlonge (Beentje 1994). R. W. Bussmann (*) Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Saving Knowledge, La Paz, Bolivia e-mail: rainer.bussmann@iliauni.edu.ge N. Y. Paniagua-Zambrana Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia Saving Knowledge, La Paz, Bolivia Herbario Nacionál de Bolivia, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, Bolivia G. N. Njoroge Department of Botany, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 R. W. Bussmann (ed.), Ethnobotany of the Mountain Regions of Africa, Ethnobotany of Mountain Regions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38386-2_109 711 712 R. W. Bussmann et al. Botany and Ecology Moringa oleifera Lam.: A fast-growing, deciduous tree. It can reach a height of 10–12 m and the trunk can reach a diameter of 45 cm. The bark has a whitish-grey color and is surrounded by thick cork. Young shoots have purplish or greenish-white, hairy bark. The tree has an open crown of drooping, fragile branches, and the leaves build up feathery foliage of tripinnate leaves. The flowers are fragrant and bisexual, surrounded by five unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white petals. The flowers are about 1.0–1.5 cm long and 2.0 cm wide. They grow on slender, hairy stalks in spreading or drooping later flower clusters which have a length of 10–25 cm. The flowers are fragrant and bisexual, surrounded by five unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white petals. The flowers are about 1.0–1.5 cm long and 2.0 cm wide. Moringa oleifera is indigenous in northern India and Pakistan. It has been introduced throughout the tropics and subtropics and has become naturalized in many African countries (Figs. 1, 2, and 3). Fig. 1 Moringa oleifera (Moringaceae), preparando Moringa leaves for food, Mahaboboboka, Southwestern Madagascar. (Photo R.W. Bussmann) Fig. 2 Moringa oleifera (Moringaceae), preparando Moringa leaves for food, Mahaboboboka, Southwestern Madagascar. (Photo R.W. Bussmann) Moringa oleifera Lam. 713 Fig. 3 Moringa oleifera (Moringaceae), preparando flowers, Mahaboboboka, Southwestern Madagascar. (Photo R.W. Bussmann) Local Medicinal Uses Moringa oleifera: Almost all parts have traditional medicinal applications, as an anodyne, anthelmintic, antispasmodic, and disinfectant (bactericidal, fungicidal) are widespread. Used to treat malaria (Randrianarivony et al. 2017; Tabuti 2008). Also to alleviate blood pressure issues, gastroenteritis, cold and cough, body pain, clearing stool, tumors, leucoderma, liver disorder, snake bite, piles, cough, stomach worm, diarrhea, and dysentery (Bekalo et al. 2009; Raj et al. 2018). The fruits are used in Nepal for liver disorders (Kunwar et al. 2008, 2009, 2013, 2016; Kunwar and Bussmann 2009). Roots are purgative. Leaves are a galactogogue. Gum is useful in dysentery. The plant is antispasmodic, expectorant, cardiotonic and diuretic. The seeds are used for bronchitis, asthma, and leprosy. Bark and fruit are taken for epilepsy, urinary tract infection, and rheumatism. The plant is astringent, aphrodisiac, carminative, and stomachic (Kunwar et al. 2009). In India, the species is used as abortifacient, anti-fertility, appetizer, for baldness, caries dental, catarrh, cholera, delivery, asthma, ear complaints, eczema, epilepsy, fever, headache, intestinal worms, liver complaints, madness, menstrual complaints, paralysis, pneumonia, rheumatism, scabies, scorpion bite, scurvy, snake bite, sores, spleen enlargement, stomach ache, syphilis, tonic, typhoid, urine complaints, and wounds (Verma et al. 2007). Moringa stenophylla is used for flu (Teklehaymanot and Giday 2010). Local Food Uses Moringa oleifera: Whereas in Asia the fruits are the most important part of Moringa oleifera, the leaves are preferred in Africa. The leaves are eaten as a salad, cooked, and in soups and sauces (Balemie and Kebebew 2006; Debbarma et al. 2017). In the Mascarene Islands, it is known as “brède mouroungue” or “brède médaille.” Flowers are sometimes eaten as a vegetable, added to sauces or used to make tea. In Sudan the 714 R. W. Bussmann et al. flowers are made into a paste by crushing and then fried. The young fruits are eaten as a vegetable (“drumsticks” or “bâtons mouroungue”), older fruits are added to sauces. In West Africa some health projects fight malnutrition quite successfully by promoting a number of measures including the use of leaf powder in the diet of children and pregnant and lactating women. The tuberous root cores can be a substitute for horseradish (Armoracia rusticana Gaertn., B. Mey. & Scherb.) (Beentje 1994). The fried seeds are eaten in Nigeria and are said to taste like groundnuts. The seeds are added locally to sauces for their bitter taste. The seed oil, known as “Ben oil” or “Behen oil,” can be used for cooking. The bark exudes a white to reddish gum (“Ben gum” or:Moringa gum”) with the properties of tragacanth (Astragalus) oil, which is used for tanning, in calico printing, and is sometimes added to sauces to make them thicker. Local Handicraft and Other Uses The whole or pounded seeds have long been used to purify water in Sudan, and this practice is promoted elsewhere in Africa. The seed cake, a residue from oil extraction, can also be used for water purification. The seed oil is used in hair-dressing, as a lubricant, and in the perfume industry as a base for fragrant volatile compounds in perfumes. “Moringa acid oil,” consisting of fatty acids from the seed oil, is used as a lubricant and to make soap. Moringa oleifera is used for living fences, in alley cropping, and as a source of nectar for bees. The leaves are eaten by livestock, especially goats, camels, and donkeys. The seed cake is considered unsuitable as animal feed because of the high content of alkaloids and saponins and is mainly used as fertilizer. The soft wood burns smoke-free and yields a blue dye. In India its pulp has been used to make paper. For cuts and wounds of domestic animals, and as snake repellent (Raj et al. 2018). Used also as aphrodisiac (Delbanco et al. 2017). References Balemie K, Kebebew F. Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in Derashe and Kucha Districts, South Ethiopia. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2006;2:53. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-2-53. Beentje H. Kenya trees and shrubs. Nairobi: National Museums of Kenya; 1994. Bekalo TH, Demissew Woodmata S, Asfaw Woldemariam Z. An ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by local people in the lowlands of Konta special Woreda, southern nations, nationalities and peoples regional state, Ethiopia. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2009;5:26. https:// doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-5-26. Debbarma M, Pala NA, Kumar M, Bussmann RW. 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