A Gift of Good Health from Mother Nature: Presenting Moringa oleifera, a Plant with Multiple Anticancer Activities

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) is a multifarious beneficial tree and widely cultivated in the tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. All parts of this plants are edible and used as a plentiful source of phytochemicals with high nutritional values. Since antiquity, this plant was recognized as a panacea for the treatment of several ailments in ethnomedicinal system. In last few decades, this fact is further reconfirmed by various scientific research works in which the plant was found to show broad spectrum of biological activities including antioxidant, anti-inammatory, antiurolithic, antimicrobial, anangesic, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antiproliferative, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, etc. Different parts of this plant exhibited significant inhibitory activity against a variety of cancer cells at moderate to low concentrations and also possess low toxicity in normal cells. This review mainly focuses a brief overview on the anticancer profile of this wonderful tree.