• Jonah Sydney Aprioku, Ohanado Robinson, Atuboyedia Wolfe Obianime, and Igbiks Tamuno.
• Department of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
• Afr Health Sci. 2022 Jun 1; 22 (2): 1111-11.

BackgroundMoringa oleifera Lam. is known to be of high nutritional and medicinal importance and has been demonstrated to possess a variety of biological activities.ObjectiveThis study investigated the beneficial role of M. oleifera (moringa) supplementation in HIV positive subjects receiving antiretroviral drugs.MethodsAdult HIV positive individuals (104) attending the medical outpatient clinic in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria receiving highly active anti-retroviral therapies (HAARTs) were recruited in a randomized fashion for the study. Half of the subjects received moringa supplement (20 mg daily) additionally, while the others received only HAART and represented the control group. All subjects were monitored for 3 months during which their immunological status (CD4 counts and TNF-α), and hematological abnormalities at pre (baseline) and post study periods were determined.ResultsBaseline levels of CD4 increased while TNF-α decreased significantly in control and moringa supplemented groups (p < 0.01). However, the post study CD4 values in the moringa group were higher and TNF-α values were lower compared to the control group (p < 0.01). In addition, baseline hematological abnormalities (anemia, thrombocytopenia, leucopenia, lymphopenia, and neutropenia) were improved but most significantly in the moringa supplemented subjects.ConclusionThe results suggest that moringa has immune-beneficial properties and improved hematological abnormalities in HIV positive individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy.© 2022 Aprioku JS et al.

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