Moringa oleifera
Moringa oleifera (synonym: Moringa pterygosperma) is a species of genus Moringa and family Moringacae. It is found in many countries all over the world and native of subtropical areas like Pakistan and India. It is known because of its nutritious and its seed oil, also called Ben oil. It is a tree having average height of 8 m. In Pakistan its common name is ‘Sohanjana’ or ‘Sanjana’ and found frequently in southern Punjab and it is also considered the origin of Moringa plant.
Moringa in Pakistan and Its Importance
Recent studies shows that this plant have ability to grow in any type of soil and can resist very harsh climates i.e., temperate and tropical. In England and USA there are a lot of herbal products and medicines related to moringa plant, But in Pakistan there is very less work on it but I already told that It has its origin in Pakistan, so most favorable climate for Moringa is in Pakistan.
It is also discovered through research that all part of Moringa tree can be used to cure a large number of diseases naturally. It is very rich in ‘Ca, Mg & Zn’ and zeatin (a cytokinin), other cytokinin and auxins which are natural hormones are found in excess quantities in this plant.
We can easily propagate it by both methods i.e., asexual or sexual propagation. There is a lot of research work being done methods to manipulate Moringa oleifera, but there are still many aspects hidden in this plant. All students, professors and researchers are invited to work on it and feel free to ask my help, it would be pleasure for me.
Benefits
There are many uses of Moringa oleifera, we just need to commercialize and we can earn a lot of profit. There are a lot of uses discovered and many are still hidden some of discovered benefits of Moringa plant are given below in brief;
1. All parts of plant can be used as cure of many diseases i.e., fever, headache, inflammation, asthma, nervous disorders, reproductive problems, skin diseases, skin infection, digestive disorders, create immunity, and the important thing that we are solving these problems naturally and moving towards sustainability.
2. Its seeds can be used as a natural water purifier.
3. Its leaves are rich in nutrients so it can be used by third world countries to overcome on hunger and by using it we can almost eliminate hunger from all over the world.
4. Its leaves also have hormones like zeatin, cytokinins and auxins in excess so it can be used as a natural growth enhancer for crops.
5. Its seed have oil which is also called ‘Ben oil‘. It is very expensive oil in international market and we can sale it easily. It is best lubricating oil among all oils of world. It has shelf life of many years. So we can use it with other oils to increase their shelf life. Burj Al Khalifa offers food cooked in Ben oil. Rado watches also have Ben oil as a lubricating oil. Recently some scientists made biofuel from it.
6. It can be used in agro-forestry, Kenya is widely using it in field crops, and taking many benefits from it.
7. It can kill some pests so we can use it as biopesticide.