Efect of Malunggay (Moringa oleifera) Capsules on Lipid and Glucose Levels 22 VOL. 47 NO. 3 2013 ACTA MEDICA PHILIPPINA _______________ Corresponding author: Mark Anthony S. Sandoval, MD Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Medical Research Laboratory Philippine General Hospital Taft Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000 Philippines Telephone: 0916-5921818 E-mail: markanthony_sandoval@yahoo.com Effect of Malunggay (Moringa oleifera) Capsules on Lipid and Glucose Levels Mark Anthony S. Sandoval 1,2 and Cecilia A. Jimeno 1,3 1 Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine and Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines Manila 2 Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila 3 Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila Introduction Moringa oleifera Lam., locally known as “malunggay,” is widely consumed as a vegetable in the Philippines. The leaves are usually added in common viands, and the fruits or pods are eaten as a vegetable dish. It is known as horse radish tree or drumstick tree in other English-speaking countries. There are popular but yet unproven claims that malunggay is used for the treatment of high cholesterol and diabetes mellitus. There are, however, several animal studies that have shown positive effects. Mehta et al. in 2003 have shown that the administration for 120 days of M. oleifera fruit, like lovastatin, was able to lower the serum cholesterol, phospholipids, triglyceride, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol ratio and atherogenic index, and was able to increase the high density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio compared to the corresponding control groups in rabbits. One proposed mechanism of action is that M. oleifera promotes gastrointestinal excretion of cholesterol as M. oleifera-treated rabbits had higher levels of cholesterol in their feces. 1 The crude extract of the leaves of M. oleifera has also been shown to possess hypocholesterolemic effects in high- fat diet fed wistar rats. If given for 30 days, the extract was able to decrease the high-fat diet-induced increases in serum cholesterol levels by 14.35%. 2 The leaves of M. oleifera have also been shown to decrease cholesterol levels by 50% in hypercholesterol-fed rabbits after 12 weeks of treatment. 3 Aside from cholesterol levels, M. oleifera has been demonstrated to improve glucose tolerance among rats. It was demonstrated that M. oleifera leaves significantly improved glucose tolerance after a 2-g/kg glucose administration in nondiabetic rats and in rats induced to develop diabetes. 4 At least four human clinical studies have been carried out already in the Philippines but these investigated the effects of malunggay on breastmilk volume, prolactin levels, and weight gain of infants of mothers given malunggay. 5,6,7,8 None of these studies dealt with the effects on cholesterol levels. A total of 126 Filipino mothers have been included in these four studies. Malunggay was given at a dose ranging from 250 mg of the leaves twice a day to as much as 700 mg three times a day. Duration of administration of malunggay ranged from as short as 3 days to as long as 4 months. Only the study by Co et al. in 2002, which administered 250 mg of the malunggay capsule 3x a day for 14 days, reported an adverse event. 8 There was one subject in the malunggay- treated group who reported developing tinnitus but this was ORIGINAL ARTICLE