Moi-moi is made from beans, ground into a smooth paste and garnished with palm kernel oil, fish, egg and crayfish.
It is a common snack sold on the streets and used as a side dish for meals like jollof rice.
Generally, moi-moi is wrapped in polythene bags, aluminium foil, or used tin cans. These materials are reported to be dangerous to health because they contain harmful compounds and toxins that can interfere with fertility and in extreme cases cause cancer.
When it comes to using transparent polythene bags, the heat causes the bags to melt and sip into food and this cause health issues.
This is where moi-moi leaves come in.
One of the best ways to wrap moi-moi is with the moi-moi leaf plant botanically called Thaumatococcus Danielli. It is called Ewe-Eran in Yoruba and Akwuko Elele or Uma in Igbo.
But it is not used to wrap moi-moi alone, it wraps pap (agidi or eko), ofada rice and other solids.
Moi-moi leaves are incredibly medicinal. They are laxatives, sedatives, and antidotes from deadly venoms and stings.
Research carried out by scientists from the University of Ilorin showed, "The fruit of the plant is used as a laxative and the seeds used as an emetic and for treating pulmonary problems. The leaf sap is used in traditional medicine as an antidote against venoms, stings, and bites."
"Leave and root sap are used as sedatives and for treating psychiatric problems. Large quantities of the fruits are collected by local people to sweeten over fermented palm wine and sour foods.
"The antioxidant activity indicates the presence of certain compounds with structural features that can trap and retain free radicals so as to convert them to less toxic compounds in the plant extracts."
The leaves have been proven to have antioxidant properties which prevent diseases.