The moringa, also called the tree of life or white acacia, is a medicinal plant that has many vitamins and minerals, such as iron, carotenoids, quercetin, vitamin C, which provide greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.
The plant is native to the southern mountainous foothills of the Himalayas (Northwest India). Today, its cultivation extends to Africa, Central and South America, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The moringa is full of health benefits: it has more protein than yogurt and as much as beef; more potassium than bananas and more vitamins than orange. In addition, it has a huge number of antioxidants, lots of vitamin A and B, iron and a variety of essential amino acids.
Fresh leaves contain nutrients in the following proportion: seven times more vitamin C than orange; seventeen times more calcium than milk; ten times more vitamin A than carrots; fifteen times more potassium than bananas; twice as much protein as milk (about 27% protein, equivalent to beef meat); twenty-five times more iron than spinach; vitamins present: A, B (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin), C, E, and beta-carotene. Minerals present: Chrome, Copper, Phosphorus, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium, Selenium and Zinc.
Floryl, continuing the research and development of healthy food production in western Bahia, began the experimental cultivation of the moringa. Because it is a crop that grows mainly in tropical and subtropical semi-arid areas, Floryl considers that the culture of the moringa will have a good adaptation to the savannah of Bahia.
The company currently has, among other healthy food crops, an area dedicated to the cultivation of Moringa oleifera with 10000 plants; a greenhouse was installed for drying and processing of its leaves.