Tags: Beverages, Healthy Food and Drinks
By Anna Valmero
PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA – For this company, turning local herbs into tea isn’t just about health benefits but helping boost the livelihood of local farmers in Mindanao.
Malachi Organic Health Products manufactures tea products made from lagundi (Vitex negundo), sambong (Blumea balsamifera), ampalaya (Momordica charantia), tanglad (lemongrass) and malunggay (Moringa oleifera).
Myra Gavino, the company’s marketing director, says the business provides livelihood for farmer communities in the Lanao-Iligan mountain range, where the company sources its herbs.
“The tea products were an offshoot of a livelihood program of a missionary who visited the country and saw the opportunity to provide local farmers with jobs and promote the health values of Philippine herbs,” says Gavino during the recent World Food Expo (Wofex) 2010.
“Since we advocate for the use of local herbs, we chose Philippine herbs approved by the Department of Health (DoH) to offer medicinal benefits and processed them in tea bags to enable more Filipinos to consume them even while on-the-go.”
Traditionally, herbal leaves are boiled in provinces but people living in urban areas have limited access or supply and would have less time to prepare them – from washing and cutting the leaves, boiling and draining these into a concoction.
“The herbal tea bags capture all the medicinal and health benefits of our local herbs and the continued patronage of our markets abroad attest to their belief on its effectiveness.”
Since 2003, the company has been exporting the organic tea products to Japan and the United States. It was only this year that the group has expanded to deliver the products to the local market with the growing interest for organic and health goods, Gavino says.
Below is a summary of the benefits of these herbal leaves according to the DoH:
Lagundi – offers relief for cough, bronchitis, asthma and lessens discomfort from arthritis
Sambong – for kidney stones, urinary tract infection (UTI), fever, lower high blood pressure
Ampalaya – for diabetes, lowers blood sugar
Malunggay or Moringa – for anti-cancer, anti-aging, antioxidant, strengthen immune system, 92 nutrients including nine essential amino acids
Talabonga - unique blend of four herbs, namely tanglad, lagundi, sambong and malunggay.
Gavino says the company’s products were accredited safe by the US Food and Drug last month, in addition to existing certifications from the DoH – Food and Drug Administration and Organic Certification Center of the Philippines.
Malachi Organic Health Products can be bought at Pinoy Pamilya Club located at 2897 F.B. Harrison Ave. cor Cuneta Ave., Pasay City. Contact them at (02)8521016 or (02)8521017.
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