Maria Orosa

María Orosa e Ylagan (November 29, 1893 – February 13, 1945) was a Filipina food technologist, pharmaceutical chemist, humanitarian, and war heroine. She experimented with foods native to the Philippines, and during World War II developed Soyalac (a nutrient rich drink from soybeans) and darak (cookies made from rice bran, packed with vitamin B-1, which prevents beriberi disease), which she also helped smuggle into Japanese-run internment camps that helped save the lives of thousands of Filipinos, Americans, and other nationals. She invented banana ketchup.

Orosa completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry, as well as an additional degree in food chemistry. She was then offered a position as an assistant chemist for the state of Washington before returning to the Philippines in 1922 to focus on addressing the problem of malnutrition in her homeland. She invented many types of food to minimize the need of imported products to feed Filipinos. She took advantage of the abundant natural resources of the Philippine islands such as native fruits, crops and vegetables to make the Philippines self-sufficient.

Early and family life

Orosa was born on November 29, 1893, in Taal, Batangas, and was the fourth among the eight children of Simplicio A. Orosa and Juliana Ylagan-Orosa. Although her father died when she was still a child (and helped her mother in the family's general store), many of her siblings also became distinguished in the Philippines. Her elder brother, Engr. Vicente Ylagan Orosa Sr., became Secretary of Public Works and Communications, and, later, Chairman of the People’s Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC) during the administration of President Ramon Magsaysay. Her brother, Dr. Sixto Ylagan Orosa Sr., became a pioneering doctor, and her nieces and nephews included banker Sixto L. Orosa, Jr., Philippine National Artist in Dance Leonor Orosa Goquiñgco, businessman José R. L. Orosa, award-winning cultural journalist Rosalinda L. Orosa, and her biographer Helen Orosa del Rosario.

After studying at the University of the Philippines, Orosa became a government-sponsored scholar who was sent to the United States in 1916.

The Philippines has officially recognized Orosa's contributions. Her home province, Batangas, installed a bust and historical marker in her honor.

On February 8, 2020, Orosa's tombstone was found at the Malate Catholic School, the site of the Remedios Hospital during the Second World War. Her remains were reinterred in the crypt of San Agustín Church in Intramuros, Manila, as part of commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Manila on February 13, 2025.

List of works Preservation of Philippine foods (1926) Roselle recipes (1931) Rice bran: a health food and how to cook it (1932) Soy beans as a component of a balanced diet and how to prepare them (1932) Preserve the national culture in local food (1932) The Recipes of Maria Y. Orosa