Bogotá D. C., Mar. 26, 2015 - UN News Agency- This plant native to the Himalayas is being studied by researchers from the U.N. to combat the fungus that causes bud rot in oil palm, in Fuente de Oro (Meta).

The seeds were brought by cattle ranchers, who used the plant as fodder for dairy species and stallions. Today, the main crops of this plant are found in Carmen de Apicalá (Tolima) and Anapoima (Cundinamarca).

Bárbara Moreno, professor in the Department of Chemistry and director of the master's thesis developed in the Bioactive Natural Plant Products and Ecological Chemistry group at the U.N., says that fresh moringa is supplied from Tolima to make the essential oil.

As he explains, with 30 kilos of the plant they extract 5 milliliters of oil, with which they are evaluating the yield of the one grown in Colombia.

The essential oil has antifungal properties (prevents fungal growth) on a large group of recognized bacteria and fungi, so it would function as an antibiotic source.

After extracting the oil and performing the chemical analysis by gas chromatography, it will be determined if the oil in Colombia has the same composition described in the different studies that have been carried out where it originates.

So far, up to 46 antioxidant components have been discovered, among them vitamin C and E. In addition, its leaves are rich in flavonoids and also contain zeatin and quercetin.

However, its most important richness is in minerals: it contains 17 times more calcium than a glass of milk, 15 times more potassium than a banana and eight times more iron than spinach. Additionally, it includes minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, copper, sulfur and aluminum.

According to analysis results, ground moringa leaves contain 27 % of very good quality protein, with all the essential amino acids. "That is why in Africa and Asia it has been a very important factor in human nutrition. In fact, on the African continent it is known as 'mothers' best friend', because it increases breastfeeding," says the expert.

Professor Bárbara Moreno, who discovered this plant by chance in the Paloquemao marketplace in Bogotá, while looking for lemon grass, has found hundreds of publications that grant it various properties. This aroused her curiosity and now it is part of the products she researches at the University.

(By:Fin/hesp/dmh/AC)

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