Botany
- As high as 9 m; has a soft, white wood and corky, gummy bark. Root has the taste of horseradish. Each compound leaf contains 3-9 very thin leaflets dispersed on a compound (3 times pinnate) stalk. Flowers white and fragrant, producing long, pendulous, 9-ribbed pods. 3-angled winged seeds.
- Introduced from Malaya or some other part of tropical Asia in prehistoric times. Grown throughout the Philippines in settled areas as a backyard vegetable and as a border plant. Drought resistant and grows in practically all kinds of well-drained soils. Conserves water by shedding leaves during dry season.
- Propagation by seeds and stem cuttings.

Properties
Galactagogue, rubefacient, antiscorbutic, diuretic, stimulant, purgative, antibiotic, antifungal.
Antiinflammatory, antitumor activities on mice studies.
Antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-ulcer.
Purported to be beneficial for decreasing blood pressure, relieving headaches and migraines, reducing inflammatory and arthritic pains, anti-ulcer, anti-tumor. Purported to be beneficial for decreasing blood pressure, relieving headaches and migraines, reducing inflammatory and arthritic pains.

Distribution
Grown throughout the Philippines as a vegetable or border plant.

Parts utilized
Flowers, leaves, young pods

Constituents
Ben oil, 36% - palmitic, stearic, myristic, oleic, and behenic acids, phytosterin; two alkaloids the mixture of which has the same action as epinephrine.

Uses
Commercial
Oil, known as ben oil, extracted from flowers can be used as illuminant, ointment base, and absorbent in the enfleurage process of extracting volatile oils from flowers. The oil, applied locally, has also been helpful for arthritic pains, rheumatic and gouty joints.
Nutritional
• Flowers, leaves and pods eaten as a vegetable.
• Source of calcium, iron, phosphorus and vitamins A, B and C.
• High in HDL (high density lipoproteins); a source of amino acids, omega oils, antioxidants.
• Comparative content: Gram for gram, 7 times the vitamin C in oranges, 4 times the calcium and twice the protein in milk, 4 times the vitamin A in carrots, 3 times the potassium in bananas.
• 100 gms or 1 cup of cooked malunggay leaves contain 3.1 g protein, 0.6 g fiber, 96 mg calcium, 29 mg phosphorus, 1.7 mg iron, 2,820 mg beta-carotene, 0.07 mg thiamin, 0.14a mg riboflavin, 1.1 mg niacin, and 53 mg of vitamin C. (Dr. Lydia Marero of the Food and Drug Research Institute -FNRI)
Folkloric
Decoction of leaves used for hiccups, asthma, gout, back pain, rheumatism, wounds and sores.
Young leaves increases the flow of milk.
Pods for intestinal parasitism.
Constipation: Leaves and fruit
Decoction of boiled roots used to wash sores and ulcers.
Decoction of the bark used for excitement, restlessness.
Pounded roots used as poultice for inflammatory swelling.
Juice of roots is used for otalgia.
Decoction of roots is use as gargle for hoarseness and sore throat.
Boiled leaves used to help increase lactation.
Seeds for hypertension, gout, asthma, hiccups, and as a diuretic.
Rheumatic complaints: Decoction of seeds; or, powdered roasted seeds applied to affected area.
Juice of the root with milk used for asthma, hiccups, gout, lumbago.
Poultice of leaves applied for glandular swelling.
Pounded fresh leaves mixed with coconut oil applied to wounds and cuts.
The flowers boiled with soy milk thought to have aphrodisiac quality.

Studies
Anti-inflammtory and Antitumor Activities of Seeds Extracts of Malunggay—A study showed the crude ethanol extract of dried seeds inhibited the carrageenan-induced inflammation in the hind paw of mice by 85% at a dosage of 3 mg/g body weight;  the mature green seeds by 77%. The crude ethanol extract also inhibited the formation of Epstein-Barr virus-early antigen (EBV-EA) induced by 12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). At a dosage of 100 ?g/ml, the extract inhibited EBV-EA formation by 100% suggesting its antitumor-promoting activity. <Abstract:http://www.stii.dost.gov.ph/pjsweb/data/antitumor_of_malunggay.htm>
In the news
• In Leyte, extracted malunggay juice is mixed with lemonsito juice to make ice candies or cold drinks, making it more plalatble and agreeable to children who detest vegetables.
Because of its high vitamin A, C, and E content, all potent antioxidants, malunggay is a very effective in removing unstable free radicals that is damaging to molecules and pro-aging.
For the men: The fruit could increase the sperm count !
For increasing breast milk: One rounded tablespoon of leaf powder provides 14% of protein requirements, 40% of calcium, 23% of iron, and the daily vitamin A needs of a child aged one to three. Six rounded tablespoons of leaf powder will provide the woman's daily iron and calcium needs during pregnancy and breast-feeding.
Recent uses and preparation:
Constipation: Eat one or two cups of the cooked leaves at supper time, with plenty of water.
Wound wash: Apply crushed leaves directly to the wound, maintaining cleanliness duriing the process.
• Biofuel source
• Moringa oil extracted from the seed of the malunggay plant is now being tapped as source of biodiesel. It is gaining preferable status over Jatropha as a source of biofuel. All parts of the malunggay plant are used whereas Jatropha is left with poisonous waste after oil extraction. Also, malunggay needs only one to two years for seedling maturation compared to Jatropha's three to five years. The math of malunggay's commercial potential is attractive: Seeds are bought at P10 per kilo, and a hectare of malunggay seedlings can harvest 20,000 kilos in 2 years with a potential profit of P200,000. (Philippine Star)

Supertitions
Malunggay ingestion is avoided in the immediate period after a family member's death. Its origin is borne from the observation that a branch or twig will shed off all its leaves within a few hours of being snapped off the tree, and in an analogy of superstitions-laden isms of rural Tagalog life, ingesting malunggay might bring death to a relative, and avoiding its use is advised for all the nine days of prayers.

Availability
Wild-crafted.
Garden and back-yard cultivation.
Commercial production of oil extracted from flowers.
Malunggay capsule (Natalac) - containing 250 mg dried young malunggay leaves, one to two capsules daily.