Contribution of Moringa Tree for Food Security and Management in Southern Ethiopia: Review

Abstract

Consumption of diverse diets, with balanced supplies of macro and micro-nutrients is required for normal human growth and physiological development. However, availability of optimally diverse diets may be constrained by wealth and/or education (including loss of traditional knowledge of indigenous crops. Human diets have been inadvertently simplified in food systems during the Green-Revolution era where agricultural production focused on provision of sufficient energy. In populations depending on cereal-based diets with low nutrient density, dietary simplification and shortage of access to animal source food exacerbates deficiency of vitamins and minerals, also known as hidden hunger. Moringa oleifera and Moringa. stenopetala are underutilized tropical tree species that can play an important role in dietary diversification and contribute to alleviation of hidden hunger in less developed tropical and subtropical countries .In particular, Moringa can be a rich source of some micronutrients that are commonly deficient in cereal-based diets.