Moringa; delivering nutrition and economic value to the people of Malawi

马拉维缺乏足够的营养是一个严重的问题，如果不进行干预，提供足够的粮食是一个无法实现的结果。马拉维在建立和执行粮食和营养安全方案方面也面临重大挑战。我们的创新解决方案是建立一种高蛋白、富含微量营养素的作物（辣木）的生产，这种作物将由当地的小农种植，并在现场进行加工，以供应马拉维拟议的扩大营养计划。该项目不仅将为马拉维最贫困和最弱势群体的营养安全做出贡献，而且将通过两个商业化机会提供公认的额外经济效益；提供功能性植物性分离蛋白，作为当地和出口市场日益需要的食品成分，并提供科学评估的公平贸易产品，以进入日益增长的国际营养保健品市场。自2011年以来，我们与非洲种植公司合作，为马拉维的概念验证辣木种植园提供了大量投资。与全国农民协会（拥有10万名成员）建立了强大的网络和合作协议，这将有助于维持当地经济。小农承包种植确保了农村人口受益，为马拉维人民提供了在马拉维种植、在马拉维加工的产品。辣木被广泛认为是一种“神奇的树”，它被许多人描述为“营养和药用的聚宝盆”，这种植物的所有部分都是可食用的。我们的初步数据表明，可以重复和可持续种植的辣木叶富含蛋白质（28%）和纤维（14%）。经分析的商业来源发现，其有益的生物活性成分极其丰富，被认为有助于预防与生活方式有关的疾病（2型糖尿病、心血管疾病和癌症）以及重要的微量营养素。辣木在不太肥沃的土壤中表现良好，并且具有抗旱和多年生的特性，可能更能抵御气候变化。此外，二氧化碳的封存将有助于减缓气候变化。该提案将评估马拉维种植的辣木的营养和经济价值。我们将评估在几个地点种植的营养成分在满足弱势群体营养需求方面的潜力。47%的儿童发育迟缓，11.2%的婴儿死亡率（五岁以下活产）和孕产妇死亡率（每10万例分娩675例）是世界上最高的国家之一，幼儿和孕妇是一个重要的目标群体。艾滋病毒/艾滋病患者也受益于营养的改善，因为目前抗逆转录病毒药物的疗效需要营养均衡的饮食。我们将把辣木与世界粮食计划署采用的补充配方进行比较，该配方目前是从跨国化学公司进口的。这将在人类饮食干预中进行评估，提供超出产品标签的证据。该项目将通过探索开发新的无转基因、富含蛋白质的功能性食品和科学评估的公平贸易营养保健品，为马拉维确定更多的经济机会，这两种产品在不断增长的国际食品和保健市场上都是非常可取的。这将使该国获得更大的权力，使其能够影响其自身的营养和经济未来。也有可能将该项目扩展到其他关注严重营养不良的中低收入国家。此外，它将加强英国的研究基础，使从事营养和食品配方工作的研究人员能够从在社会经济环境中工作中受益，确定有效翻译的障碍，并与马拉维的学术界、政府和非政府组织建立联系。

Lack of adequate nutrition in Malawi is a critical concern and without intervention, the provision of adequate food is an unachievable outcome. Malawi also faces significant challenges in establishing and operating a food and nutrition security programme. Our innovative solution is to establish production of a high-protein, micronutrient rich crop (Moringa oleifera), which will be locally grown by smallholder farmers, and processed on-site to supply Malawi's proposed scaled-up nutrition programmes. This project will not only contribute towards nutritional security for the poorest and most vulnerable in Malawi, but will deliver recognised additional economic benefits through two commercialisation opportunities; provision of functional plant-based protein isolates as an increasingly desirable food ingredient for local and export markets and scientifically-evaluated fair-trade products to enter the growing international market for nutraceuticals. We have partnered with Africa Growing plc who have provided significant investment in proof-of-concept Moringa plantations in Malawi since 2011. Strong networks and collaboration agreements are in place with the National Farmers' Association (100,000 members), which will help sustain local economies. Contract growing by smallholder farmers ensures the benefits cascade down to the rural population, providing a product grown in Malawi, processed in Malawi for the people of Malawi. Moringa is widely regarded as a 'miracle tree' it has been described by many as 'a nutritional and medicinal cornucopia' and all parts of the plant are edible. Our preliminary data has shown that Moringa leaves, which can be repeatedly and sustainably and cropped are high in protein (28%) and fibre (14%). The commercial source analysed was found to be extremely rich in beneficial bioactive constituents considered to contribute towards prevention of life-style-related diseases (type-2-diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer), as well as important micronutrients. Moringa performs well in less-fertile soils and being drought resistant and perennial is likely to be more resistant to climatic change. Additionally, sequestration of CO2 will contribute to climate change mitigation. This proposal will evaluate the nutritional and economic value of Moringa grown in Malawi. We will assess the nutritional composition, grown across several sites in terms of its potential to contribute towards meeting the nutritional requirements of vulnerable groups. With 47% of children stunted, infant mortality at 11.2% (live births under five) and maternal mortality (675 per 100,000 births) one of the highest in the world, young children and expectant mothers are an important target group. HIV/AIDS sufferers also benefit from improved nutrition, as efficacy of current anti-retro viral drugs require a nutritious and balanced diet. We will compare Moringa to the supplemental formula adopted by the World Food Programme, which is currently imported from multinational chemical companies. This will be evaluated in human dietary intervention, providing evidence beyond that of product labelling. The project will identify additional economic opportunities for Malawi by exploring the development of novel GM-free, protein-rich functional food products and fair-trade scientifically evaluated nutraceuticals, both of which are highly desirable in growing international food and health markets. This will lead to greater empowerment of the country, enabling it to influence its own nutritional and economic future. There is also potential to expand the project into other LMICs where severe malnutrition is a concern. Additionally, it will strengthen the UK research base, allowing researchers working in nutrition and food formulation to benefit from working in a socioeconomic setting, identifying barriers to effective translation and establishing connections with academics, government and non-government organisations in Malawi.