Malunggay
Moringa oleifera · Moringa
- Names in the 1901 book
- Malug̃ay, Kamalug̃ay, Kalug̃ay, Tag.; Dool, Malug̃it, Vis. and Pam.; Horse Radish Tree, Indo-Eng.
- Names in the 1985 book
- English: Horse raddish tree; Tagalog: Malunggay; Bicol: Kalunggay; Ilocano: Marunggay; Visayan: Kamalongan, Kalamungai, Balungai
- Colours
- flowercream
- Native range
- Himalayan foothills of northwest India
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Common throughout the islands. Blooms in November.
- Family
- Moringaceae, filed in the book under Moringeæ
- Printed in 1901 as
- Moringa pterygosperma, Gaertn. (M. oleifera, Lamk.; M. poligona, DC.; Guilandina Moringa, Blanco.)
- Printed in 1985 as
- Moringa oleifera Lam.
- Sources
- Page 86 on Project Gutenberg · Healing Wonders of Herbs (1985), page 110 · Wikipedia
The plant today
Moringa oleifera is a short-lived, fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to northern India and used extensively in South and Southeast Asia. Common names include moringa, drumstick tree (from the long, slender, triangular seed-pods), horseradish tree (from the taste of the roots, which resembles horseradish), ben tree (for its oil), or malunggay (as known in maritime or archipelagic areas in Asia). It is widely cultivated for its young seed pods and leaves, used as vegetables and for traditional medicine. It is also used for water purification.
Excerpt from “Moringa oleifera” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sa Tagalog
Ang malunggay, na may pangalang pang-agham na Moringa oleifera at Moringa pterygosperma ay ang pinaka malawakang itinatanim at inaalagaang espesye ng saring Moringa, na nag-iisang sari sa pamilyang Moringaceae. Sa wikang Ingles, nakikilala ang malunggay sa pangkaraniwang mga pangalang moringa, benzolive tree ("punong bensoliba"), at West Indian ben ("ben ng Kanlurang India").
Sipi mula sa “Malunggay” sa Tagalog Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 527 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 47 provinces, most often Zamboanga del Norte (100), Davao del Norte (63), Cavite (25), Davao del Sur (24), Iloilo (15), Negros Occidental (12), Zamboanga del Sur (12), Bataan (11), and 39 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The root is vesicant and the Filipinos bruise it and use it for sinapisms. I have often observed, however, that it is quite painful used in this way. Dr. Waitz states that it is a good plan to add a few drops of the root juice to mustard sinapisms, a proceeding which seems to me superfluous, especially in the case of children as he advises it.
The Bengal pharmacopœia contains the following official preparations:
Compound Spirit.—
[table omitted; see the source text]
Mix and distil 4 liters.
Dose
8–30 cc. as a stimulant and diuretic.
Compound Infusion.—
[table omitted; see the source text]
30–60 grams a day, as a strong stimulant.
The expressed seeds yield a fixed oil, which is irritating and in my opinion should not be used internally.
The green pods, the flowers and the tender shoots of the leaves are eaten stewed. The juice of the leaves is given internally in India, as an emetic, in doses of 30 grams.
Botanical description
A well-known tree, 5–6 meters high. Leaves 3-pinnate, their terminal divisions odd-pinnate. Leaflets oval, glabrous, entire. Calyx, 5 unequal petaloid segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla white, 5 unequal petals. Stamens inserted on the border of a disc, unequal, 5 opposite the petals bearing anthers, 5 alternate without anthers. Anthers dorsal, unilocular. Ovary pedunculate, lanceolate, unilocular, with many ovules in 2 series, inserted on the parietal placentæ. Fruit a pod terminating in a beak, 3-valved. Seeds numerous, very large, winged, embedded in a spongy substance.
What the 1985 book uses it for
A record of home remedies from 1985, with the book's amounts and doses reworded. It is not medical advice.
- ConstipationCooked leaves eaten with meals.One cup of cooked leaves with meals.Page 19
Summarised from Herminia de Guzman-Ladion, Healing Wonders of Herbs (Manila: Philippine Publishing House, 1985), where this plant is shown as “Malunggay” on page 110. The book is in copyright, so its wording and photographs are not reproduced. Amounts are the book's, restated.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Moringa oleifera: An Updated Comprehensive Review of Its Pharmacological Activities, Ethnomedicinal, Phytopharmaceutical Formulation, Clinical, Phytochemical, and Toxicological Aspects
- Salinity stress improves antioxidant potential by modulating physio-biochemical responses in Moringa oleifera Lam
- Recent Advances in Drumstick (Moringa oleifera) Leaves Bioactive Compounds: Composition, Health Benefits, Bioaccessibility, and Dietary Applications