ABSTRACT
This chapter provides information on uses, folk medicine, chemistry, germplasm, distribution, ecology, cultivation, harvesting, yields, energy, and biotic factors of Horseradish-Tree. Every part of the Moringa Oleifera is said to be of value for food. Seed is said to be eaten like a peanut in Malaya. Thickened root used as substitute for horseradish. Leaves pounded up and used for scrubbing utensils and for cleaning walls. Oil is clear, sweet and odorless, said never to become rancid. It is edible and used in the manufacture of perfumes and hairdressings. In rural Sudan, powdered seeds of the tree Moringa oleifera are used to purify drinking water by coagulation. In trials, the powder was toxic to guppies, protozoa, and bacteria, and it inhibited acetylcholinesterase. According to J. L. Hartwell, the flowers, leaves, and roots are used in folk remedies for tumors, the seed for abdominal tumors. The root decoction is used in Nicaragua for dropsy.
