Malunggay supplement helps breastfeeding

Malunggay, the leafy vegetable often found in favorite Filipino recipes, is actually a medicinal plant that has health benefits.

Malunggay also has its own folkloric use with its leaves being used by our ancestors to enhance breast milk production among breastfeeding mothers. It was also used as a rubefacient, antiscorbutic, diuretic and remedy for rheumatism.

Altermed Corp., the division of Pascual Laboratories specializing in medicinal plants, has come up with Pro-Lacta (Malunggay) capsules, a food supplement proven to help mothers produce more breastmilk the natural way.

Altermed Corp., makers of Amargozin (Ampalaya) capsules, Ascof (Lagundi) tablets and syrup, and Re-leaf (Sambong) tablets, cultivates and nurtures malunggay in an exclusively organic and environment-friendly farm.

The leaves are harvested only by trained personnel and processed into capsules in a pharmaceutical facility registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs and complying with current good manufacturing practice standards.

Each capsule contains 350 milligrams of powdered malunggay leaves (Moringa oleifera Lam.), possessing nutrients like beta carotene, Vitamin A, calcium, ascorbic acid, phosphorus, iron, thiamin and riboflavin. Each 100-capsule bottle costs only P500.

The initial dosage is one to three capsules three times daily, but the dose may be adjusted depending on breastmilk requirements.

Studies have confirmed how breastfeeding provides various benefits to both mothers and their babies, including fostering emotional bonding and improving brain development and immune functions during the child’s growth.

"In cases where mothers cannot readily produce breastmilk after childbirth, Pro-Lacta can be an efficient food supplement that can help produce breastmilk. Apart from this, mothers will notice that their child will grow up to be smart, healthy and active for his/her age," said Robert Domingo, product manager of Pro-Lacta (Malunggay) capsules.

Pro-Lacta is available in all Mercury Drug outlets and other leading drugstores nationwide. For inquiries, call 411-9907 or 920-1911 to 15.