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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Paradox between malnutrition and nutritional richness of foods in Madagascar: the example of Moringa oleifera

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Madagascar has two faces: a developing country with a high percentage of population under poverty scale, and a country rich in natural resources. Only few studies examined this paradox between malnutrition prevalence and food availability. In other developing countries Moringa oleifera (MO) was proposed as a potential solution for its high nutritional value. In Madagascar this plant grows in the wild.The present research investigated why MO leaves are not part of Malagasy diet and how it could be introduce as daily food. A first study examined the actual nutritional composition of Malagasy MO leaves, and a second one the perceived nutritional value of these leaves by Malagasy people.Results showed that the dried leaves are very rich on crude protein, essential fatty acids, calcium, magnesium and iron. In contrast, the consumption of MO leaves is scarce and their nutritional properties not known by the population. Differences were observed between population from Antsiranana (north) and Antananarivo (center). If, in Antananarivo, only 30% of the respondents consume these leaves, they associated them to a healthy food. But in the Antsiranana, where this plant is more available and 100% of the respondents have consumed it at least once, no spontaneous association with nutrition was observed. Moreover, the representation the respondents had of these leaves differed in rural and urban Antsiranana areas. In rural areas knowledge about the sensory properties of MO leaves and their cooking specificities were observed, whereas in urban areas MO leaves were not distinguished from other Malagasy leaves. This research showed that Malagasy people are not well informed about foods which are good nutritionally and easily available. The next step will be to find a way to introduce foods containing MO leaves in Malagasy food repertory and to convey a clear message on the nutritional properties of these leaves.