More often than not, when we refer to malunggay (moringa oleifera) we only mean the leaves or immature greed pods which we use for cooking and other nutritional and medicinal purposes. Leaf stalks are often thrown away. But did you know that the stalks is just as nutritious as the leaves?
The stalks like the malunggay leaves contain substantial amounts of valuable macro and micro-nutrients. In terms of macro-nutrients, potassium (K) is highest in malunggay stalks. Ten kilograms (kg) of dried malunggay stalks contain 293 grams (g) of potassium. Other macro-nutrients present are : calcium 191g/10kg, nitrogen 185g/10kg, chloride 65g/10kg, sulfur 45g/10kg and sodium 7g/10kg.
In terms of micro-nutrients, the stalk is rich in iron, boron, zinc, manganese and copper. Ten kilos of dried malunggay stalks contain 436 milligrams (mg) of iron, 170mg of boron, 112mg of zinc, 1oomg of manganese, and 37mg of copper.
Be aware, malunggay has been well recognized as a practical and highly nutritional plant and food source and yet vital information on its macro- and micro-nutrient contents is scarcely found and identified.
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