ABSTRACT

Moringa oleifera Lan ( synonym: moringa pterygosperrn Gaertner, commonly referred to as drum stick tree is a member of the Moringacea family which grows throughout most of the tropics and is native to the sub-Himalayan tracts of the North-western India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan (Makkar and Becker, 1997). In Nicaragua, moringa was introduced and naturalized in the first 20 years of the 19th century as an ornamental tree and was also used as a live fence and wind break (Morton, 1991). The tree has a height of 7-12m up to the crown (Makkar and Becker, 1997). The leaves are twice or trice pinate and spirally arranged. The flowers are bi-sexual, white or cream color with yellow stamens and the fruits is three sided or nearly cylindrical capsule. The seed is round, dark chest-nut colored, and with three white wings that facilitate spreading by the wind in natural conditions. Moringa can be propagated either by using seeds or cuttings (Morton, 1991). Fruits, leaves and flowers are consumed by humans I as nutritious vegetables in some countries (Markar and Becker, 1997).