Moringa in Asian Traditional Medicine: Ancient Wisdom from Sri Lanka, India and Beyond

Long before Moringa became a trending superfood in Western health circles, it was simply part of daily life across much of Asia. Known by dozens of local names — Murunga in Sri Lanka, Sahjan in India, Malunggay in the Philippines, Kelor in Indonesia and Malaysia — this remarkable tree has been woven into the fabric of Asian culture, cuisine, and healing traditions for at least 4,000 years.

Moringa in Sri Lanka: The Murunga Tree

In Sri Lanka, the Moringa tree — called Murunga (මුරුංගා) in Sinhala — has been a fixture of home gardens and village life for as long as recorded history. Virtually every part of the tree found its place in Sri Lankan culture.

Culinary Traditions

The long, slender seed pods — known as drumsticks — are a staple ingredient in Sri Lankan cooking. They are used extensively in the island's beloved dhal curry, coconut milk-based vegetable curries, and fish preparations. The pods are scraped and the soft inner flesh eaten directly, lending a subtly sweet, earthy flavour to dishes.

Moringa leaves are used fresh in mallum — a traditional Sri Lankan dish of finely chopped greens cooked with grated coconut, green chilli, lime, and spices. Mallum is considered an essential part of a balanced rice and curry meal and is valued as much for its nutrition as its flavour. In rural households, the Murunga tree in the garden was historically regarded as a practical insurance against nutritional deficiency — particularly important during dry seasons when other vegetables were scarce.

Traditional Medicinal Uses in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lankan Ayurvedic practice, Moringa holds a prominent place as both a rasayana (rejuvenating tonic) and a specific remedy for numerous conditions. Traditional healers — wedamahattayas — have used various parts of the tree for centuries:

• Leaves: Consumed as a tonic to strengthen the body, improve breast milk production in nursing mothers, and treat anaemia — uses now supported by modern nutritional science given the leaf's exceptional iron and calcium content.
• Seed pods: Used to treat joint pain, rheumatism, and digestive complaints. The pods were also traditionally prepared as a remedy for urinary tract disorders.
• Roots and bark: Used carefully (the roots contain alkaloids and must be used with caution) in preparations for treating digestive issues, inflammation, and circulatory problems.
• Flowers: Consumed as a vegetable and used in teas for their purported benefits for colds, respiratory complaints, and urinary infections.
• Seeds: Ground into paste and used topically for skin conditions including infections and inflammation. Powdered seeds were also traditionally used to purify drinking water — a practice validated by modern research showing that Moringa seed proteins effectively flocculate and remove suspended particles and bacteria from turbid water.
• Gum (tree sap): Applied externally to treat headaches, fevers, and skin diseases.

In traditional Sri Lankan practice, Moringa was particularly valued for women's health — given to pregnant and nursing mothers as a nutritive tonic, and used to support recovery after childbirth. Given that the leaves contain more calcium than milk and exceptional levels of iron, this traditional wisdom reflects genuine nutritional insight.

Moringa in Indian Ayurveda

Moringa oleifera is native to the sub-Himalayan foothills of northwestern India, and its presence in Ayurvedic medicine stretches back at least 5,000 years. In classical Ayurvedic texts including the Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita, Moringa — called Shigru in Sanskrit — is described as one of the most important medicinal plants in the materia medica.

Ayurvedic tradition credits Moringa with treating over 300 conditions. Key traditional applications include:

• Digestive health: Moringa was prescribed for bloating, flatulence, intestinal worms, and as a general digestive tonic. The pods were particularly valued for their gut-soothing properties.
• Anti-inflammatory: Paste made from Moringa leaves and roots was applied to swollen joints and inflammations. Classical texts describe it as having heating, penetrating properties that resolve stagnation and reduce swelling.
• Blood purification: Moringa was considered a powerful blood purifier, used in formulations for skin conditions, infections, and as a general detoxifier.
• Eye health: Fresh Moringa leaf juice was applied to the eyes and consumed to improve vision — a traditional use consistent with the leaf's extraordinarily high beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor) content. Vitamin A deficiency is the leading preventable cause of childhood blindness globally.
• Nervous system: Moringa was included in formulations for anxiety, sleep disturbance, and general nervous debility — properties that modern research is beginning to investigate through its effects on cortisol and inflammatory cytokines.

In South Indian cuisine — particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala — Moringa drumsticks are an essential ingredient in sambar (a lentil and vegetable stew eaten daily across millions of households), and the leaves feature in chutneys and dry vegetable preparations. The tree is so embedded in South Indian culinary culture that a meal without drumsticks in season would be considered incomplete.

Moringa Across Southeast Asia

Philippines: Malunggay — The Miracle Vegetable

In the Philippines, Moringa is called Malunggay and is arguably the most nutritionally important leafy vegetable in the country. It grows prolifically across the archipelago and is eaten across all social classes. Malunggay leaves are added to chicken soup (tinola), rice dishes, and eaten as a plain cooked green. The Philippine Department of Health has actively promoted Malunggay as a nutritional supplement for pregnant women and children, and Malunggay-enriched products including noodles, bread, and infant formula have been developed and distributed as part of national nutritional programs.

Traditional Filipino medicine uses Malunggay for a remarkably similar set of conditions as those described in Ayurveda — indicating a convergent recognition of the plant's properties that predates any cross-cultural scientific exchange.

Indonesia and Malaysia: Kelor

In Indonesia and Malaysia, Moringa is known as Kelor and carries particular cultural significance. A well-known Indonesian proverb — "Dunia tak selebar daun kelor" (The world is not as wide as a Kelor leaf) — uses the plant's tiny leaves as a metaphor for humility and perspective, reflecting how deeply embedded the tree is in cultural consciousness.

In Balinese Hindu ceremonies, Kelor leaves are used in ritual cleansing and purification rites. Traditional Javanese medicine uses Kelor leaves as a treatment for fever, hypertension, and as a galactagogue (to promote breast milk production). In parts of Sulawesi, Kelor leaf paste is applied to the skin to treat fungal infections.

Thailand and Myanmar

In Thailand, Moringa leaves are used in soups and curries. In Myanmar, the leaves are eaten as a steamed vegetable and the pods used in soups. Traditional healers in both countries have used Moringa preparations for joint pain, diabetes management, and as a general tonic — all applications now under active scientific investigation.

What Traditional Wisdom Tells Us

The consistency of Moringa's traditional uses across geographically separate and culturally distinct Asian societies is striking. Across Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, and mainland Southeast Asia — populations with no direct historical communication developed remarkably similar conclusions about what Moringa could do. They used it for the same conditions: anaemia, inflammation, digestive disorders, blood sugar regulation, skin conditions, and as a nutritive tonic for women and children.

Modern nutritional science and pharmacological research are now systematically validating these traditional observations. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, blood-sugar-stabilising, and nutritive properties attributed to Moringa by traditional healers across Asia are increasingly confirmed by peer-reviewed clinical research — making Moringa one of the best examples of traditional knowledge anticipating modern science.

For communities in Sri Lanka and across Asia, Moringa was never a trend. It was simply part of life — a generous, fast-growing tree that fed families, nourished mothers, and healed the sick, season after season, for thousands of years.