DRUMSTICK PODS (MORINGA OLEIFERA)

NUTRITIONAL AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF DRUMSTICKS

• Excellent health tonic
• Blood purifier
• Good for removing intestinal worms
• Extremely useful during pregnancy and lactation, provides necessary calcium, vitamins and iron
• Curbs digestive disorders
• Considered good for chest congestions, sore throats and coughs
• Good for skin
• Prevents infections of skin, chest and throat
• Has vital anti-bacterial properties
• Helps to cure sexual debility and useful for male and female
• Leaves have protein, calcium, iron and most of vitamins
• Effective medicine for urinary disorders like scanty urination and excessive urination

COMMON USES OF DRUMSTICK PLANTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• The Moringa pod is known as “munga” and also referred as “drumstick” in English. In India, it is used to prepare a variety of sambhar and is also fried.
• It is also used into a variety of curry dishes by mixing with coconut, poppy seeds and mustard or boiled until the drumsticks are semi-soft and consumed directly without any extra processing or cooking. It is used in curries, sambhars, korma and dals, and also used to add flavour to cutlets etc.
• In Maharashtra, the pods are used in sweet & sour curried called Aamatee.
• Sliced, young green pods can be used in savoury and meat dishes. Seeds can be fried or roasted and taste like peanuts. When seeds are abundant they can be sprouted like wheat grass, eaten as tender nutritious greens.

Drumstick Juice has great nutritional value. An ounce of drumstick juice contains equivalent to that contained in four glasses of milk, vitamin C equivalent to that contained in seven oranges and potassium equivalent to that contained in seven bananas. It also has three times more iron than an equivalent spinach.

Research over the years indicate that it strengthen the eyes, sharpens the brain, strengthens the digestive system, boosts the immune system and cleanses the blood.

Medicinal uses

A folk remedy for stomach complaints, catarrh, hay fever, impotence, edema, cramps, hemorrhoids, headaches, sore gums; to strengthen eyes and the brain, liver, gall, digestive, respiratory and immune system and as a blood cleanser and blood purifier.