Monitoring Indian "Superfood" Moringa oleifera Lam. - species-specific PCR-fingerprint-based authentication for more consumer safety.

ABSTRACT: Moringa oleifera Lam. has become one of the major new superfoods commonly available in the aisles of bio-shops and health-food sections in supermarkets of North America and Europe. While most of these products appear under the generic and scientifically inconclusive term "Moringa", the European Union, so far, has allowed commercialisation for the use in food and feed for M. oleifera only. M. oleifera is indigenous to India and South Asia, but large-scale cultivation of this species has spread to the tropical regions on all continents, with a strong focus on Africa, leading to a high risk of admixture with species like M. stenopetala (Baker f.) Cufod. that is native to Africa. In the present study, we have characterised six species of Moringa in order to develop a simple and robust authenti

SUBMITTER: Wetters S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11016095 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature