Role of Moringa oleifera Lam. in cancer: Phytochemistry and pharmacological insights

Moringa oleifera Lam. (M. oleifera), aka "Shigru," "mother's best friend," "miracle tree," "horseradish tree," "drumstick tree," and "oil tree," native of the sub-Himalayan region of northern India, belongs to the Moringaceae family. The high nutritional value of M. oleifera makes it suitable for both nutritional and medicinal purposes. Because of its chemical constituents, M. oleifera is used to treat and combat malnutrition, especially in infants and nursing mothers. These days, herbal medicine and its phytocompound derivatives are also being recognized as effective complementary therapies for cancer treatment. So, in this study, M. oleifera is reviewed for its anticancer property. By thoroughly scanning the PubMed, Embase, SinoMed, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases, an extensive up-to-date report on its ethnomedicinal use, nutritional, phytochemistry, and pharmacotherapeutic potential is done. It has valuable nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, iron, calcium, antioxidants (flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenols) and ascorbic acid. Additionally, it is used as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, antimicrobial, anticancer, and antidiabetic agent. There are also concrete evidence that this plant's bioactive constituents, numerous extracts have a high biopotential in a number of cancer cells, through its antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and cell cycle arresting properties. This extensive literature review will provide insights into several mechanisms and signaling pathways of its various phytoconstituents that can mitigate the growth of cancer cells in various experimental models, safety and toxicity concerns, and drug-drug interactions.