Effect of Harvest and Postharvest Handling on Quality of Moringa Leaf Powder

Abstract

Moringa Oleifera is a highly nutritious plant with a plethora of uses in various fields of life. It serves as food for humans and animals, soil amendment, water purification, skincare, etc. Almost all parts of the plant are valuable and have potential commercial value. The leaves contain vitamin C in quantities that exceed orange, vitamin A exceeds carrot, calcium exceeding milk, and potassium exceeding banana. Another remarkable property of the plant is it full complement of essential amino acids, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties. The seed also gives valuable oil, which has both domestic and industrial uses. Even though the plant is naturally endowed with many useful attributes, the right harvesting and postharvest handling is required to maximise the potential and produce moringa products with optimum quality and nutritional content. Therefore, this review aims to shed light on some of the important postharvest handling practices carried out to transform the moringa leave into finished products. Some of the practices discussed are harvesting, stripping, washing, drying, and milling. The discussion also captures ways in which the activities affect the nutritional, medicinal, and general final quality of the moringa products.