Moringa oleifera, commonly referred to as the 'horseradish tree' or 'miracle tree', is a plant that is native to areas of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in the areas with an average annual rainfall of 1,000–2,000 mm and high solar radiation.
The roots, stems, leaves, seed pods, resin and flowers are considered to be healing herbs in Ayurvedic (traditional Indian healing system) and Unani (traditional Middle Eastern healing system) folk medicine.
Nutritional value: M. oleifera has comprehensive nutritional, antioxidative, and medicative attributes. M. oleifera can provide 9 times more protein than yogurt, 17 times more calcium than milk, 7 times more vitamin C than oranges, 10 times more vitamin A than carrots, 25 times more iron than spinach, and 15 times more potassium than bananas.
Antibacterial: M. oleifera seeds contain pterygospermin, a potent antibiotic and fungicide effective against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Poultry Specific Studies
| Type | Plant Part | Dosage | Specific use | Results | Ref |
|---|
| Chickens | meal | up to 60 g/kg diet | antioxidant | had higher feed conversion. T2 diet considerably increased birds’ breast and gizzard weight and yield while decreasing feet weight and yield, in comparison to T1. Dietary inclusion did not impair or improve blood parameters. | E Evaris et al., 2022 |
| Chickens | leaf powder | 15 g/kg diet | GI health | Improved intestinal morphology | Y Moreno-Mendoza et al., 2021 |
| Hens | leaves | 3-9 g/kg diet | egg quality | Increased egg production, eggshell quality, Haugh units, and decreased serum cholesterol, triglycerides, excreta ammonia concentrations besides serum liver enzymes, uric acid and creatinine. | A Abdel-Wareth et al., 2021 |
| Broilers | leaves | 0.5-5% diet | antioxidant | The percentage of abdominal fat in broilers decreased significantly in response to dietary supplementation with MOL. The haematological profile in the MOL group revealed a lower WBC count and lymphocyte percentage but higher heterophil and H/L ratio without affecting haemoglobin and RBC count. The inclusion of MOL increased total serum protein, Ca and P levels but decreased glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, AST and ALT concentrations. Moreover, dietary MOL increased the activities of GSH, CAT and SOD, GPx and GST while decreasing the TBARS level. The pH value decreased in the ileum of broilers fed the 1% and 5% MOL diet compared to the other treatments. Decreased ileal counts of E. coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus spp. were observed whereas the total ileal Lactobacillus spp. count increased in broilers fed the MOL diet. In conclusion, the MOL supplement can enhance growth performance and antioxidant status, alter ileal microbiota and protect against enteropathogens with no deleterious effects on the broiler chickens. | S Hafsa et al., 2019 |
| Broilers | leaves | 1.56% diet | | could be used as a feed ingredient for broilers to improve PUFA contents, oxidative stability, color of breast muscle, and abdominal fat without adverse effects on growth performance. | Y Cui et al., 2018 |
References
- Chen, Zhi-Min et al. "Tolerance evaluation of Moringa oleifera extract to Hailan brown laying hens." Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition vol. 104,5 (2020)
- N'nanle, Oumbortime et al. "Use of Moringa oleifera leaves in broiler production chain. 1 - Effect on Sasso breeder hens performances, internal quality of hatching eggs and serum lipids." Veterinary medicine and science vol. 6,3 (2020)
- Mahfuz, Shad, and Xiang Shu Piao.. "Application of Moringa (Moringa oleifera) as Natural Feed Supplement in Poultry Diets." Animals (2019)
- Gadelhaq, Sahar M., Waleed M. Arafa, and Shawky M. Abolhadid.. "In vitro activity of natural and chemical products on sporulation of Eimeria species oocysts of chickens." Veterinary parasitology 251 (2018)
- Nkukwana, T. T., et al.. "Effect of Moringa oleifera leaf meal on growth performance, apparent digestibility, digestive organ size and carcass yield in broiler chickens" Livestock Science 161 (2014)
- Ola-Fadunsin, Shola David, and Isaiah Oluwafemi Ademola. . "Direct effects of Moringa oleifera Lam (Moringaceae) acetone leaf extract on broiler chickens naturally infected with Eimeria species" Tropical Animal Health and Production, 45(6) (2013)
- Zanu, H. K., et al. "Possibilities of using moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf meal as a partial substitute for fishmeal in broiler chickens diets" Online Journal of Animal and Feed Research 2.1 (2012)
- Chollom, S. C., et al.. "Investigation of aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera lam seed for antiviral activity against newcastle disease virus in ovo" Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 6.22 (2012)
- Abou-Elezz Fouad Mohammed, Khaled et al. . "The nutritional effect of Moringa oleifera fresh leaves as feed supplement on Rhode Island Red hen egg production and quality" Tropical animal health and production vol. 44,5 (2012)
