Know2eat

Moringa leaves

Moringa oleifera

What moringa leaves has been studied for

2 associations assessed — 1 with at least some human evidence behind it. Strongest first.

  • 1 Limited
  • 1 Insufficient
3 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About moringa leaves

The small compound leaflets of the drumstick tree, eaten as a cooked green across South Asia, the Philippines and much of sub-Saharan Africa, and dried into powder for export. The USDA reference entry is the fresh raw leaf, not the powder.

Also known as Drumstick leaves, Malunggay, Murungai keerai, Horseradish tree leaves

Blood Sugar & Metabolic HealthHeart Health

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Limited

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
Limited evidence

Some small trials of moringa leaf powder report lower fasting glucose or a blunted post-meal rise in people with type 2 diabetes. The trials are small, short, mostly unblinded and concentrated in a few research groups, so the finding is preliminary rather than established.

Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.

3 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Blood lipid profile

Heart Health
Insufficient evidence

Moringa is marketed heavily for cholesterol on the strength of animal work. The few human studies are small, poorly controlled and inconsistent, which is not enough to say anything useful.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

4 sources

Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.

Ask about Moringa leaves

Ask about Moringa leaves

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories64 kcal3%
Protein9.4 g19%
Total fat1.4 g2%
Carbohydrate8.28 g3%
Fibre2 g7%
Water78.7 g—
Fats
Cholesterol0 mg0%
Vitamins
Vitamin A378 µg42%
Vitamin C51.7 mg57%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.257 mg21%
Riboflavin (B2)0.66 mg51%
Niacin (B3)2.22 mg14%
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.125 mg3%
Vitamin B61.2 mg71%
Folate40 µg10%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Minerals
Calcium185 mg14%
Iron4 mg22%
Magnesium42 mg10%
Phosphorus112 mg9%
Potassium337 mg7%
Sodium9 mg0%
Zinc0.6 mg5%
Copper0.105 mg12%
Manganese1.06 mg46%
Selenium0.9 µg2%
Other measured compounds
Ash2.26 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Drumstick leaves, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 168416).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • driedReduces vitamin C

    Drying the leaf for powder concentrates minerals and carotenoids per gram but destroys most of the vitamin C the fresh leaf contained.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Avoid

    Root and bark are not food

    The leaves and pods are eaten widely, but moringa root and bark contain spirochin and related alkaloids and have been associated with poisoning. Preparations made from root or bark are a different and genuinely hazardous product.

  • Worth knowing

    Supplement doses are far above culinary intake

    Most human research uses several grams of dried leaf powder daily, which is many times what appears in a bowl of soup. Findings from those studies do not describe eating the fresh leaf as a vegetable.

  • Worth knowing

    Additive effect with glucose-lowering medication

    Because some trials report falls in fasting glucose, people taking insulin or sulfonylureas who start a daily moringa powder habit have a plausible reason to watch for lower readings and discuss it with their prescriber.