Moringa oleifera: a comprehensive review with special emphasis on phytochemistry

The genus Moringa is comprised of 13 species distributed mostly across tropical regions of the world, among which Moringa oleifera Lam. is the most cultivated one. To the best of our knowledge, previous literature reveals no such review article that provides so much information in a single manuscript especially about phytochemistry. So, this review aimed to collect published literature and summarizes the information available on various aspects of the genus Moringa with special emphasis on isolated phytochemicals from Moringa oleifera. All literature published to date on M. oleifera was collected from digital and online databases i.e., Chemical Abstracts, SciFinder, PubChem, PubMed, Sciencedirect, Google Scholar, dissertations, books and conference proceedings. M. oleifera is a fast growing and edible plant found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Its ethnomedicinal uses for the management of various ailments are evident in the literature. Across the 250 + articles published during the last 55 years (1969-2024), it was found that M. oleifera is a wonder plant, with nutraceutical potential and extremely low potential for toxicities. The plant presents tremendous applications in medical, industrial, nutritional, poultry and cosmetic fields. In the closure of this study, physiological description and medicinal, industrial and nutritional applications and phytochemistry along with the chemical structures of the reported phytoconstituents from Moringa oleifera are comprehensively described.