South African Moringa Oleifera Lam: A Review of its Phytochemistry, Commercialization and Quality Control
Kokoette Bassey*, Alley Semenya, Malebelo Mabowe, Morgan Mabuza
Citation : Kokoette Bassey*, Alley Semenya, Malebelo Mabowe, Morgan Mabuza, South African Moringa Oleifera Lam: A Review of its Phytochemistry, Commercialization and Quality Control International Journal of Medicinal Plants and Natural Products 2018 ,4(4) : 5-35.
Ayurvedic traditional medicine postulates that Moringa oleifera Lam. can prevent about 300 diseases. Its use in water clarifation, anti-malnutritional and therapeutic properties, a function of its phytochemistry have been explored. Peer-reviewed articles, using South African Moringa oleifera" and Moringa "compound isolation", "phytochemistry, "commercialization" and "quality control" separately as search term ("all fields") were retrieved from popular search engines and reviewed. The nutrients content of South African Moringa oleifera are well documented even though this is from fewer studies in comparison to that conducted in other African Countries. However, phytochemical isolation and purification studies conducted using the South African specie are insufficient. A compromised quality, efficacy and safety of Moringa based raw materials and products is a possibility in South Africa in contravention of WHO quality standards for herbal medicines. Further research is pivotal to further improve on the usage and commercialization of the malnutrition supressing nutritional plant.