Moringa oleifera regulates the health of people living with HIV in developing countries: a systematic review

Abstract

If left untreated, HIV has the potential to increase morbidity and mortality rates to 14 times higher than that of HIV and AIDS-free persons of the same sex and age group. Currently, treatment of HIV is by use of ART, which has proved to prolong the lives of people living with HIV (PLWHIV). In addition to ART, HIV patients opt to also use traditional medicines. Moringa oleifera is one of the traditional herbs that is used by HIV patients in developing countries. However, its use is only recommended by non-professionals due to a lack of consensus on the impact of moringa on the health of PLWHIV. Therefore, the goal of this review is to investigate the impact of moringa oleifera on health-related quality of life of PLWHIV. Three scientific databases were accessed from 1 July to 31 August 2022 using as key words “moringa oleifera”, “health outcomes”, herbal supplementation” and “traditional medicines”. Articles published in peer-reviewed journals were selected. 20 articles were retrieved, and 11 articles were excluded since they either did not use a randomised control study design, or were a review. The articles reviewed indicated that moringa supplementation resulted to increases in CD4 cell count and body mass index, improvements in psychological well-being, in management of depression and anxiety and the function of vital body organs and control of cholesterol levels. In conclusion, use of moringa oleifera supplementation improves the health of PLWHIV. It is therefore recommended that health personnel should consider the use of moringa oleifera alongside ART to ensure optimal treatment outcomes.

Keywords:

• AIDS
• complementary medicine
• health outcomes
• herbal suplementation
• traditional medicine